Back Around Again
by mandylynn9
Summary: Emma is the savior that will break the Evil Queen's curse. What changes from the story we know if Emma and Regina had an encounter before the white knight unknowingly came to Storybrook to bring back the happy endings? Love changes everything, and it can't be denied.
1. Chapter 1

Regina sat at a small tiki bar on a beach in Florida sipping on a strawberry daiquiri. The Mayor of the small town in Maine, called Storybrooke, looked anything like her usual self sitting there wearing a red two piece bathing suit with sunglasses on top of her head. She discovered by accident that she could leave Storybrooke without any risk to her memory of her time in the Enchanted Forest as the Evil Queen. While she sat alone she thought of her son, Henry, and how he had found a book of fairytales that told the story of the curse Regina had placed on everything in Fairytale Land because of her incessant need to take away Snow White's happy ending. The Mayor's eight-year-old was acting out because no one believed his farfetched accusations. The kid was frustrated due to his struggle to convince everyone of the truth combined with his mother's insistence to stop him from divulging his discovery, and she needed a new perspective. On a whim, Regina decided she needed a break, a vacation to somewhere she didn't know where no one knew her. She left Henry with her friend Kathryn, hoping that without being around for a few days to fight with Henry about his discovery, they might be able to resume the fantastic mother-son relationship they had before the discovery of his book. After all, there was no way the Savior would be around anytime soon to break the curse. Regina knew the daughter of Snow and Charming, sent from Fairytale Land some twenty-five years ago wouldn't appear until her twenty-eighth birthday. This gave the Mayor three years before there was even a chance that the woman would end up in Storybrook.

Snapping out of her daydream, Regina sensed it before she laid eyes on the blonde woman that took the seat next to her. It was magic. Regina breathed in deeply letting it fill her lungs as it had been a considerable amount of time since she had been overwhelmed by magic. She eyed the woman curiously and noticed the blonde was wearing flip flops, dark blue board shorts, and a white tank top with a blue bathing suit underneath. Regina wondered who she was. She knew that people from all over the Enchanted Forest had been sent to this land. She also knew that not everyone ended up in Storybrooke. She wondered if the woman knew where she really came from, who she really was. She wondered if the woman knew that she possessed magic. She panicked slightly when she wondered if the woman would recognize who she, the Queen, was in this land.

"Want another?" Regina snapped her eyes up to meet the blonde's and gasped when she realized that the blonde was speaking to her.

"Excuse me?" Regina asked a little dumbfounded, a little overwhelmed about what she was feeling sitting next to the blonde.

"Would you like another drink?" The blonde motioned to the empty glass in Regina's hand. Regina relaxed slightly and nodded yes, unable to form proper words as those green eyes bore into hers. She studied the blonde's profile. She was certainly attractive with soft skin and piercing green eyes.

"Thank you." She said, taking the drink from the beautiful stranger sitting across from her who had a rum and coke for herself.

"I'm surprised a pretty girl like you would be sitting alone." The blonde said. Regina noticed the cocky grin that spread across the blonde's face. Two could play at this game. There was nothing wrong with a little playful banter with an attractive stranger.

"Maybe I don't want to be bothered." Regina said, giving the blonde her best smoldering smile.

"You wouldn't have taken the drink if you didn't want to be bothered." The blonde replied, taking a sip of her drink. Regina watched closely as she swallowed.

"Tell me your name." Regina said, putting on her husky voice. Maybe it was the heat. Maybe it was the alcohol, but she hadn't felt this attracted to someone in quite a while.

"Emma." The blonde answered. The Mayor let it roll over in her head, and she decided that she liked the way it sounded as she repeated it on her own lips.

"You hungry?" Emma asked. Regina was a little taken back by her abrasiveness; however, she hated that she found it endearing. Regina laughed slightly when her stomach growled. Emma smiled. "There's a local place down the street."

Regina was shocked when she found herself walking towards a small restaurant with Emma at her side. They didn't say much until they had a seat on the patio.

"What will you ladies have to drink?" The waiter asked.

"I'll have a rum and coke and she'll have a margarita." Emma answered. Regina almost snapped at for ordering for her, before she realized that a margarita was exactly what she wanted.

"You're not from around here, are you?" Emma queried as she eyed the brunette curiously.

"No, I just needed a vacation." Regina responded evasively. She didn't want to tell this woman too much considering that the Mayor could still feel the magic from Emma surrounding her as they talked.

"Alone?" Emma asked.

"Yes. I haven't been on a vacation since I first got my son, and I thought now might be a good time to do it." Regina saw the way Emma looked at her when she said that she got her son instead of had her son. "I adopted him when he was three weeks old." She added this to prevent Emma's confusion.

"How old is he?" Emma asked. She wasn't sure if Emma looked nervous talking about it or not.

"Eight." Regina responded. To prevent from going too far into the conversation, Regina asked, "Why are you in Florida?"

"I was here for work last week." Emma said looking down. Regina sensed that the woman didn't really want to explain more. "I decided to stay for an extra few days to relax, and I have to say that I'm glad I did." Regina felt herself blush as Emma looked her up and down from across the table.

The two women were still sitting at the table in the restaurant late into the night laughing and drinking. The conversation they had was very superficial. They discussed where they were from, current events, and joked about recent music, movies, and television shows. Regina found herself laughing easily with Emma, she secretly enjoyed the fact that every few minutes Emma moved her chair closer to her own. The Mayor hadn't been with a woman before, but to be honest she had only been with one man before. When Emma had successfully moved her chair close enough for their arms to touch, the magic became a little overwhelming. She wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or not, but she needed some air.

"How about we go for a walk?" Regina asked. The blonde nodded enthusiastically, and led them to the sand.

Emma took her hand as they walked down the beach. Her toes in the sand with the soft skin of Emma's hand was all so overwhelming for the Mayor, their suppressed magic becoming fiercely strong as Emma held her closer. Regina tried to distract herself by looking to the sky. It wasn't as dark out as she expected it to be because of the stars that shone brightly overhead. They reminded her of the Enchanted Forest, and how alone she had been all this time.

They came across a pier and stopped under the pier and sat down on a small bench. Emma turned to Regina and said, "Before I do this, does your son have a father or other mother in the picture?"

Regina laughed/ "He has biological parents, but I don't know who they are. If you're asking if I have a boyfriend or girlfriend, the answer is no."

Emma didn't hesitate to lean in and press her lips against Regina's. The kiss made Regina light headed, she was sure it was their magic. Regina's arms moved up to the back of Emma's neck to pull her closer, while Emma wrapped her arms around Regina's waist and held her tightly. When Emma's tongue ran across Regina's bottom lip, she opened her mouth to allow Emma entrance. Emma's soft tongue stroked against her own. Regina broke the kiss for air leaving both of them breathing heavily, eyes remaining closed.

"Woah." Emma breathed out. Regina took Emma's hand and stood. She had never done this before, but she knew she'd regret it if she let her night with Emma end here.

Regina silently led Emma to her hotel room, praying her forwardness didn't intimidate the blonde. Emma kissed her hard, putting all those thoughts to the back of Regina's mind. The blonde pushed the Mayor up against the wall as she kicked the door shut with her foot. Regina was slightly taller than Emma which put her at a slight advantage to gain back her usual dominant demeanor. She let her hands slide to Emma's waist, giving her leverage to turn Emma and push her back up against the opposite wall. Regina's hands glided up Emma's torso, to her chest, then around her neck to hold her closer. The Mayor moaned when Emma's fingernails scratched lightly down her back. With two pulls, Regina's bathing suit top fell to the ground.

Emma pushed Regina forwards, having already found where the bed was in the small one bedroom hotel room. They continued to kiss until the back of Regina's knees hit the bed causing Regina to fall back, pulling Emma on top of her. Emma pulled back from the kiss, her eyes mirroring the fire-like lust that Regina knew was in her own. Emma trailed her tongue down to Regina's collar bone, sucking lightly letting a small bruise form on her neck. She kept going down to take Regina's hard nipple in between her teeth earning a growl from the brunette below her.

Emma smirked as she pinched Regina's left nipple, then leaned down so her tongue could work on the right. She felt Regina's hips buck against her. She could smell her arousal. Emma moved back up the brunette's body to capture her lips again for a searing kiss. Regina hesitantly broke the kiss to remove the blonde's bathing suit top. Emma lowered herself back to kiss Regina letting their chests meet, sending a surge of pleasure right to Emma's center.

The blonde kissed down the Mayor's body stopping to swirl her tongue around the brunette's belly button. She looked deep into Regina's eyes as she moved her bathing suit bottoms down her legs. Emma took in the sight of the writhing brunette below her. She ran a finger through Regina's wetness letting it coat her finger, then slowly slid it into Regina's tight entrance, watching the brunette's eyes grow bigger as she stroked her walls gently. She moved her finger slowly in and out of Regina until the brunette started to slide her body down rhythmically to meet Emma's slow pace. Emma quickly added another when the brunette started moaning. Regina took in a sharp intake of breath as Emma curved her fingers hitting the spot that made her see stars behind her eyes.

Emma looked into Regina's deep brown eyes and smirked as she lowered herself to slide her tongue around the brunette's clit as she continued to push in and out of her with her fingers. "Fuck yes" emitted from Regina's throat in the sexiest, huskiest way Emma had ever heard.

Emma continued what she was doing, going back to the spots over and over again that made the loudest moan release from Regina's red lips. The Mayor bucked wildly into Emma's hand until she felt the sticky liquid coat her fingers as Regina rode out her orgasm. When Regina opened her eyes, Emma was smiling down at her, waiting for the brunette to respond.

"We have a problem." Regina said in a deep, aroused voice, concern etched on her face.

"What is that?" Emma asked, pecking her on the cheek.

"You are wearing too many clothes." Regina laughed as she flipped them so that Emma was on the bottom. They spent hours exploring each other's bodies in the most beautiful ways that they never knew was possible. Regina fell asleep content for the first time in a long time with arms wrapped around her body.

Regina noted the absence of the blonde's arms immediately when she opened her eyes the next morning, as the light streamed through the window. She rolled over to an empty spot in the bed next to her. She stood thinking Emma might be in the bathroom, but she found that empty as well. The Mayor thought the night before had been a dream, but she knew that wasn't true when she saw the small bruise on her neck in the mirror. When she saw Emma's tank top still on the floor, she picked it up. She let the tears fall from her eyes. She had let herself fall for someone again who she didn't even know. The blonde was just a vacation one night stand. For letting her walls down, she was left gripping a white tank top as she cried silently to herself on the bed.


	2. Chapter 2

Emma Swan's night wasn't going exactly the way she planned. It was her twenty eighth birthday, and the last thing that she had expected to be doing was standing next to her kitchen counter drinking a Jack and coke. Well, there wasn't exactly much coke in the glass. She had just gotten home from her third date with a brunette from work. By now, Emma expected to be rolling around in bed. Instead, she was given a quick kiss at the door with a promise to call the next day. She wasn't sure where she went wrong. As she was about to down her glass, her doorbell rang. She smiled to herself. Her date must have just been playing hard to get and decided to come back for a little rendezvous.

Emma put on her sexy grin as she opened the door. At first, she didn't see anyone standing there. Looking down she noticed the boy. She looked at the clock next to the door noting that it was way too late for him to be selling cookies or whatever else it was that kids sold.

"You lost kid?" She asked. There was something so familiar about this little boy, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

The little boy didn't answer. Instead, he walked right past Emma into the living room. She followed behind him being sure to lock the door thinking this was a rouse for some adult to come in and rob her blind.

"Hey kid." She said coming in behind him.

"My name is Henry." He finally said. Henry, she thought. There was something familiar about that name too.

"What can I do for you, Henry?" She asked.

"You're my birth mother." Emma's ears stopped working after the words left his mouth. She knew he was still talking because his mouth was still moving, but she couldn't hear a single word he said. She let her eyes roam over his face. He looked familiar because his face was shaped just like Neal's. He looked familiar because he had the same cocked smile that her ex had possessed.

"Slow down." She finally forced herself to say as she continued to stare at him. He was about the right age, but there had been a closed adoption. She had been in prison when she gave birth to him. She had held him for two seconds. She took the time to let the image of the small baby she still held in her head collide with the image of the boy standing in front of her.

The little boy looked frustrated. "I need you to come with me to Maine. You're the savior, and you have to break the Evil Queen's curse."

"Ok." Emma said. "I think someone has had a little too much caffeine on his way here. What is your phone number? Your parents are probably worried sick. Where did you come from?"

"Maine." The boy said letting out an exacerbated sigh. "I just told you that. I need you to come with me. You have to break the curse."

"What curse?" Emma decided if she humored him she might be able to get a phone number out of him faster.

"My Mom is the Evil Queen from the Enchanted Forest. Yes, the one you read about when you were a kid. Your mother is Snow White, and your dad is Prince Charming. I live in a town full of storybook characters that have no idea who they really are because of the curse that sent them here. It's been twenty eight years. You're the savior."

Emma was dumbfounded. This little guy obviously had a vivid imagination. She wondered if the stress of meeting his birth mother for the first time had caused the kid to concoct such a crazy story. "Alright." Emma finally said shaking her head. "I'll go to Maine with you." She knew that driving the kid home was probably the quickest way to get him there, and she certainly didn't want to be charged with kidnapping because he was in Boston with her.

Emma and Henry got into her bug, and she drove. The little boy next to her told the story of a book that his school teacher had given him. This book was full of fairytales about her parents who he claimed happened to be Snow White and Prince Charming. His mother, the Evil Queen, had cursed them all to live in Maine. He spoke with such passion that she wished she could believe him.

"You're wrong kid." She said. "I grew up in foster care. I had a family until I was three, but they gave me away when they had kids of their own. I don't have a family. I certainly am not a princess."

"You have to believe." The little boy said looking into her eyes. "You will break the curse. You have to save everyone."

Emma drove well into the early hours of the morning with the little boy continuing to tell her all of his stories about which character he thought each person in the town was. He kept telling her that she would be the one to bring back the happy endings. Emma laughed out loud at this. She certainly couldn't bring anyone a happy ending. She didn't even have her own.

When she pulled up in front of a huge, white mansion she smiled for a second. She had given up this little boy so that he would be raised in the way that she never could. She felt relief wash over her when she realized that he at least possessed all the material things that he would need.

They walked up the driveway and rang the doorbell. Every single light in the house was on. The door flung open. A brunette wrapped her arms around Henry and squeezed him tight. She rubbed his arm and his face to make sure he was all in one piece. She told him that she was worried sick, and she couldn't believe he would run away. Three women and another man came to the doorway as the woman continued to kneel in front of Henry.

As if on cue, the woman noticed the blonde standing next to her. She looked up. Brown eyes locked with green ones. Emma took in a sharp intake of breath the second that realization struck her. It was in that moment that she felt the buzz on her skin that she hadn't felt since that night three years ago.

"Regina." She breathed out. The boy looked from his mother to Emma confusion etched across his face.

Regina's heart was pounding as she looked at the woman before her. To say she couldn't believe her eyes would have been an understatement. "Emma," she said, and Emma's heart lurched at the slight pain that she heard in the way her name was uttered. Before Emma could say anything else, a palm came into contact with her face. Regina slapped her so hard that her head snapped to the side.

"Regina, what the hell are you doing?" This voice came from the man standing in the room. He was obviously a police officer. Emma was at a loss as to what to say. She felt the sting on her cheek. She felt the constriction in her chest.

"I deserved that." She said looking at the man who was now standing next to her. Silence passed through the room as everyone contemplated Emma's statement. "He just showed up at my house." She finally said.

"Emma's my birth Mom." Henry said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "She is here to break the curse."

Regina rolled her eyes. This was almost too much for Emma to take in as she looked at the woman standing before her. She hadn't aged a minute. She wore a tight dress, and Emma almost smirked at the way it hugged her curves. She had thought of that night often. She could still feel the softness of Regina's lips against her skin. She also still felt the sting of the slap she had just received.

"Henry, please go to your room." She said. Henry did as he was told with his book behind him.

"I am just going to go." Emma said as she turned to leave. The sooner she got out of this situation the better.

"Go ahead, run." Regina said. "That is what you are good at." Emma felt like she had been slapped again as she let the words sting deep down inside.

"It's late." The voice of one of the women watching the scene finally spoke up. "My Granny runs a bed and breakfast. Just stay there for the night, and you can be on your way in the morning.

"I'm staying." Emma said locking eyes with Regina. "It's obvious that Henry needs some stuff sorted out. I won't run from him again."

"Oh please." Regina said. "You ran when you gave birth to him. You ran from me. You will run now. As soon as the going gets tough, you'll be out of here." The three women watching looked at each other still very unsure of what was happening around them.

"You don't know me." Emma finally said. She had lost the tone that she hoped to use as her voice faltered when she again looked into dark brown eyes. For just a moment she saw the hurt there before it was replaced with a brick wall.

She took a few steps backwards letting herself stand on the front porch. Regina turned to walk upstairs and one of the women followed her. Two of the other women stepped outside with Emma.

"I'm Ruby." The one wearing the short shorts and tight t-shirt said. "This is Mary Margaret." She said pointing to the woman standing next to her. "My granny's is right down the street."

They walked in silence. Emma contemplated the journey that had gotten her to this point. When they arrived at the diner, it was almost five AM. "Coffee?" Ruby asked.

"Please." Emma said before following the two women into the diner.

"How did Henry get to you?" Mary Margaret finally asked.

"I have no idea." Emma said. "He just showed up on my doorstep talking about some curse and Snow White and the Evil Queen."

"He has been doing that since I gave him that book. I guess he thinks that you are the savior." Mary Margaret said.

"It appears so. I guess I should stay for a couple of days. I don't want to abandon the kid if he is having a mental breakdown."

Mary Margaret finished her coffee and left to go home. Ruby stood over the stove making Emma pancakes. She wasn't sure why, but she felt sorry for the blonde who had been sucked into the small town.

"What was that back there?" Ruby finally asked.

"I met Regina a long time ago." Emma said avoiding the suspicious gaze she picked up from Ruby. It was obviously more than a meeting. "Who was that other woman with Regina?" Emma tried to sound conversational instead of curious.

"That's Belle. She's Regina's girlfriend." Emma choked on her coffee slightly as the words registered in her ears. "Yeah, it makes absolutely no sense. Regina is more like her mother the way she protects her from everyone. They've only been seeing each other a few months. I didn't think Regina was capable of anything intimate."

"Oh she is." Emma let slip before giving Ruby a look to let her know that was the end of that conversation.

Emma ate her breakfast before taking a room key from Ruby. She laid down on the bed letting her thoughts wash over her. She ran a finger across her bloody lip. She still felt the sensation of the night that Regina's had been there.

Across town, Regina stood in her study with the door closed. Deep in a drawer in her desk in there she pulled out a black box. In the box was a white tank top that she hadn't pulled out in six months. She let herself breathe it in as the scent of Emma overwhelmed her. She couldn't believe the woman had been standing in her living room. She laid down letting herself remember the feel of the weight of Emma pressed against her. She let a single tear fall as she held the garment to her chest. She had felt magic in Emma because Emma was the product of true love. Emma was the savior. Regina knew she was there to break the curse. As much as it hurt her to do so, Regina had to make sure that Emma would leave and never come back.


	3. Chapter 3

Emma sat in Granny's diner the next day drinking a cup of coffee. She wasn't exactly sure what she was going to do. She didn't have a job. She didn't really have anywhere to go. She sure as hell wasn't going to march up the stairs to Regina's to talk to Henry. Instead she decided to finish her coffee and walk around town to see what this little place was all about. When she walked out of the diner, she saw a sign across the street for the town psychologist. She knew that Henry said his mother had him in treatment so she thought she would start there.

When she knocked on the door, a man with red hair answered.

"Can I help you?" He asked looking at her with serious curiosity in his eyes.

"I'm Emma. I'm um, Henry's birth mother. I was wondering if we could talk about him." Emma answered awkwardly. She wondered when she would start thinking things through before she did them.

"Come in." He finally said. Emma sat down. "I can't get too specific here due to patient doctor confidentiality; however, Henry has quite the imagination. I'm sure you know. I've been working with him to try to focus his energies on other things."

"What do you mean?" Emma asked.

"I have been trying to get him to write, read, create, anything to get his focus off his stories. Instead that is all that he talks about. I don't want him to think that I don't believe him because part of his problem is Regina not believing him, but I don't want to feed into his delusion. He needs someone to trust because he certainly doesn't trust the Evil Queen." He said.

Emma laughed at the mention of Regina as the Evil Queen. She tried to ignore the pull in the pit of her stomach at the thought. She looked up at him trying to let it sink in. "So I should pretend that I believe him?"

"No. You should try to let him see it logically without telling him he is wrong. He needs to think that someone has faith in him. The kid really just believes in happy endings, and he needs somewhere to focus that. Don't tell him he is wrong, but you should try to surround him with logic and fact to try to get him to see for himself that he is living in fantasies instead of real life." The two talked for a few minutes longer before Emma left the office. She still wasn't exactly sure what she was supposed to do, but she knew she had to be a little more encouraging of Henry. When she walked out of the door, Archie turned to her and said, "I would watch out for Regina though. She can be quite difficult to get along with."

Emma smiled at the door without turning to face him and said, "I know. I think I can take care of her myself."

As she walked out of the door, Emma wasn't expected to be met with a furious looking Regina. "What are you doing talking to Dr. Hopper?" She asked, and the irritation was obviously present in her voice. Emma couldn't help it she let her eyes roam over the Mayor in her black dress and what could only be described as fuck me heels. Regina pretended not to notice, but Emma certainly noticed the red tint to the brunette's cheeks.

"I want to help Henry." Emma said simply. She looked over her shoulder at that moment to see what she knew to be Regina's car parked across the street with the hood up. "Car trouble?" Emma asked.

"I already called a tow trunk." Regina answered looking anywhere but at Emma.

"That will take hours. Let me take a look." Emma said walking over to the car. Regina followed. Emma knew she was about to object, but she bit her tongue. The whole time Emma worked under the hood Regina looked anywhere but at her. This was a little too domestic for Regina's liking. "Crank it up." Emma finally said.

Reluctantly, Regina did. To her surprise, the car started. "You will be able to make it home, but you'll need some new spark plugs." Emma said whipping her hands on her shirt. Regina let the smirk spread across her face this time because she constantly yelled at Henry for the same thing.

"Thank you." Regina said to the blonde.

"You're welcome." Emma said before smiling and walked away. She felt the eyes on her as she walked into the diner for another cup of coffee.

"Miss Swan." She was greeted a soon as she went into the dinner by the man who had been at Regina's the day before.

"Hi." She said.

"I'm Graham." He said reaching out his hand for her to shake it. He was a handsome guy, and he seemed kind so far. She wondered if Regina had told him anything.

"Emma." She said shaking his hand back.

"I know this is short notice, but do you want a job?" He asked looking at her hopefully.

"Um, doing what?" Emma asked.

"I need a deputy. The majority of the stuff done here by my office is exactly what I just saw you do. You're good at it." He responded like it was obvious. "I'm the sheriff, and I obviously need help with all the crime in this town." Emma found herself laughing easily with this guy.

"Alright." She agreed. She needed an excuse to stay here a little bit longer just to make sure Henry was alright. She might as well have something to do while she was here. She did have a background in law enforcement after all.

"Well, get your coffee and come by the police station." He said smiling at her before leaving.

"Sheriff Graham." Ruby said with a grin to Emma as she opened the door for her. "He is a very eligible man Emma." Emma could see the glint in Ruby's eyes talking about this with her.

"I hate to tell you this Rubes, but he isn't my speed." She said grinning at the waitress as she grabbed her coffee.

"What does that mean?" Ruby asked curiously.

"Women are more my speed." Emma didn't mean to rake her eyes up and down Ruby's body as she said it, but she let it happen anyway. She played it off by sipping her coffee and looking down.

"Ah." Ruby said with a grin. The brunette appreciated when anyone admired her body so the look didn't bother her. Instead, Ruby turned to pick up a napkin that had fallen on the floor. She bent over low right in front of Emma and slowly came back up before shooting a grin to Emma and walking to the corner to throw it away.

"We should have a girl's night tonight. Me, you, and Mary Margaret. It would be so fun." Ruby said.

"Sure." Emma answered. "It would be fun." She hadn't really had girls as friends in the past. She might as well give it a try since she was picking up her life to move here with Henry.

She made plans with Ruby before heading to the police station.

When she arrived, Graham was sitting at the desk tossing a piece of paper into a trash can. He smiled pleasantly at Emma. "That is your desk over there." He said pointing. "We basically sit here until something happens or Regina needs us to do some minute task." She couldn't help the smile that spread across her face at the thought of seeing the Mayor again.

After a few minutes of her looking around the office, Graham asked. "So, there isn't a boyfriend or husband back home missing you, is there?" He grinned at her. Emma knew this game. He was hitting on her. She certainly wasn't here for that.

"Nope." She answered. "Don't get your hopes up though, I only sleep with women."

"That must be a recent thing considering Henry and all." Graham said. She knew this game too.

"Henry is eleven years old. A lot can change in that time." She said pointedly at the man. He could hear the agitation in her voice so he tried to make a joke.

"I hate to tell you this, but Regina and Belle are the only women in this town that are also interested in women, and they are together." He said laughing.

He noticed the way Emma flinched when he said it. He could feel the tension in the room. At that moment, he heard the familiar click of heels on the tile floor.

"Sheriff Graham." Regina said. She took in a sharp intake of breath as she noticed Emma standing behind him. "Arrested already Miss Swan?" She asked, sure to put as much indifference in her voice as possible.

"No. I just got hired as deputy." Emma said with a grin. Regina had to look down to hide the blush that sprang to her cheeks as she watched Emma's face turn into the same crooked smirk that Henry always made when he was nervous.

"I guess you are staying then?" She asked.

"Yes, I am." Emma smiled again. She knew the effect she was having on Regina.

"You'll be good to remember, Sheriff Graham, that in your employee manual you can't date your deputies." Regina said turning on her heels to leave. "I don't play around with policy enforcement."

Emma let her get to the door before she said, "Don't worry Madam Mayor; you know what team I play for."

Regina didn't turn, but she felt something tighten deep down inside of her. She knew that Emma had a grin stretched across her face, and she couldn't let her get the satisfaction from seeing the smile that spread across her own face.

She spent the rest of the day making small talk with Graham and literally reading every single file about every single arrest that had occurred since 1985. Apparently they didn't file records before that.

She went back to her room that afternoon to get ready for her night out. She settled for a short, red dress. It wasn't flashy, but there wasn't really anyone she was trying to impress tonight.

She noticed Regina and Belle sitting at a booth immediately when she walked into the bar. She let her eyes roam over the Mayor who hadn't noticed her yet. She made her way to Ruby and Mary Margaret. Ruby hugged her. Ruby quickly introduced Mary Margaret to Emma and vice versa again before ordering a round of shots for the women.

They chatted. They drank. Emma watched as guy after guy came to hit on Ruby. After a little while, Emma finally accepted Ruby's offer to dance with her. They were standing across from each other, but they weren't touching. Emma had been trying to ignore the looks all night that came across the bar from Regina. She let herself step closer to Ruby as she felt Regina's eyes on her back. She wasn't going to lead Ruby on by doing this. There was no question that Ruby was straight, but she wanted to make Regina jealous. She let her hips slide against Ruby's as they faced each other. They danced for a few songs before Emma let Ruby be dragged away by another guy with a smile and a promise to return soon. She saw Regina making a bee line for the bathroom, and she headed after her.

When she followed her in, she turned to lock the door. "You seem to be in a hurry." Emma said.

"This is inappropriate Miss Swan." Regina said reapplying her lip stick in the mirror. Emma moved closer to her so that she was standing at her side. She watched the lip stick run across perfect red lips, and she felt the all too familiar sensation between her legs at the sight of Regina.

"I can almost see your heart beating faster." Emma said dropping her tone down a few octaves to her husky voice. She saw the sharp intake of breath Regina took. Regina grinned. Two could play this game.

She turned to face Emma so that their lips were almost touching. She moved so that her lips brushed the shell of Emma's ear as she spoke. "Just think about it Miss Swan. I could put you on this counter and take you. You're basically showing yourself to everyone with that short, tight dress."

As soon as the words were out of Regina's mouth, she walked past Emma and out the door. Emma was left standing there watching Regina's retreating form with her mouth wide open knowing that she'd be taking care of herself that night with Regina on her mind.


	4. Chapter 4

When Regina arrived home that afternoon the sight in her front yard made her slow the car to watch Henry and Emma from around the corner. Emma looked frustrated. She was playing catch with Henry obviously exacerbated by the boy's inability to catch the ball. Regina laughed at the sight. She knew her son wasn't very good at sports. Her heart lurched at the expression on Henry's face when he finally did catch the ball. Emma cheered and gave him a high five. Regina let herself smile at the scene but quickly snapped out of it when she realized she was thinking about how nice it would be to come home to that scene on a regular basis.

Regina had agreed to let Emma pick Henry up from school after a few days of begging by her son.

Emma heard the heels clicking up the sidewalk as she threw Henry the ball that he caught again with a huge smile on his face.

"I hope you did your homework first Henry." Regina said ignoring Emma as she walked past.

"I sure did. Emma made me do it right after school. Did you see me catch that ball Mom?" He asked all in one breath. Regina smiled at the boy calling her Mom. He hadn't really done that since the whole Evil Queen thing began.

"I did honey. You did great." She smiled at him and then noticed the mud stains on his shoes. "Henry, please go wash up for dinner." The boy turned and ran upstairs without much objection which also surprised Regina. Before he got to the house, he turned quickly. "Can Emma stay?" He asked looking at Regina with pleading eyes.

"Sure." She regretted the word before it was out of her mouth, and she wasn't sure why she said it. She could tell from the gasp next to her that Emma couldn't believe it either. "Miss Swan, please follow me into the study. We really should talk."

Emma walked behind Regina in silence to the study. Mahogany furniture and bookcases lined the room. Two couches sat in the middle that looked like they belonged in a law office in New York City. Emma sat down and accepted the beverage that Regina gave her. She took a long sip of it and let the Jack burn her throat as it went down.

"So, let's talk." Emma said as she ran her hands down her own jacket. Her palms were sweating from the nerves of being in the same room as Regina, but she couldn't ignore the slight tug in her heart. She wasn't sure if it was coincidence or not, but she assumed that Regina has remembered her drink of choice even after all this time.

"What happened with us was a long time ago, and I don't want any of that to have a negative effect on Henry. Honestly, right now, he needs you to help him see that he is literally living in a fantasy world. He will never believe me because he thinks I'm the Evil Queen, but he will believe you." Regina said looking at Emma with pleading eyes. Emma could see the pain there when talking about their son.

"Regina, I need to tell you why I left." Emma said suddenly. Regina looked up into green eyes with a shocked expression. She wasn't sure if she wanted to hear it, but that exact answer was something that had kept her awake many nights wondering what she had done wrong. When Regina didn't answer, Emma took it as her cue to continue. "I woke up feeling more content with you tangled in my arms than I ever have in my life, and I freaked. You have to understand Regina. I never had a family. I was in the foster care system my entire life. Once I had a family until I was three, but they got rid of me when they had their own kids. I had Henry in jail after his father got me arrested for a crime that he committed. Feeling that way freaked me out more than anything ever had." Emma looked up across from her. She didn't realize she had stood up, but she was pacing.

"Why am I not surprised that you were in prison?" Regina said with venom lacing her voice.

"Regina stop, please. We can't be like this and help the kid. I just want you to understand." Emma was pleading. Regina felt bad when Emma ran a hand through her beautiful blonde curls in frustration.

"You're right." Regina said casting her eyes down. If she could convince Emma that everything was alright with Henry, she would be on her way back to Boston. No more Savior. No more worry about Emma breaking her curse. "I'm sorry you didn't have a good life Miss Swan, but that doesn't change anything now. I'm with someone."

"I know." Emma responded hoping Regina didn't notice the slight break in her voice. She could tell by the way that Regina looked down and took in a deep breath that she had noticed it.

"So, what do we do?" Emma asked.

"You're Henry's mother. Belle understands that, but she knows nothing of our previous encounter. I would like to keep it that way. We need to work together to help Henry." Regina said standing to face Emma.

"Regina, I can't deny that I have feelings for you still. I can't deny that I still think about that night on a regular basis. I will do whatever needs to be done to help Henry, but I can't promise you anything when it comes to how I feel about you. I let you go once, and I can't help but think there is a reason I got to see you again." Emma responded standing inches from Regina's face. Regina let her eyes roam down to Emma's lips. She wanted desperately to push their lips together, but she had to stay strong. True love's kiss. That is what would break the curse. Regina almost laughed to herself when she thought about that. Emma Swan certainly wasn't her true love. Emma leaned closer. Their lips were inches away from each other when the door flung open causing both women to jump back.

Belle came into the study oblivious to what was happening inside. "Hey Emma." She smiled sweetly at Emma. "Are you staying for dinner?"

Emma said yes looking down. She continued to look down when Belle placed a sweet kiss on Regina's lips.

Dinner was uneventful. Belle asked a thousand questions about Emma's past. Emma gave answers appropriate for Henry to hear. Henry talked on and on about how good he had been at catching a baseball and how he was going to continue to practice with Emma who promised to take him to a batting cage one day to teach him to hit.

"So, Emma" Belle said looking across the table at the blonde "you don't have a significant other at home missing you? Surprising for such a beautiful girl." Emma didn't ignore the way Belle looked at Regina to gauge her reaction to that statement. Regina was wide eyed for half a second before she caught herself.

"I sure don't." Emma responded surprised at how calm and level her voice sounded.

"There are quite a few eligible people in Storybrook." Belle said grinning. "Of course there is Sherriff Graham, but we all know you can't date him thanks to our unbearable Mayor's policies." Belle shot another grin at Regina who softened a little and laughed.

"I don't think Emma likes men honey." Regina said.

"Of course she does. I'm not stupid. I had to have a Dad at some point." Henry said with his best duh expression on his face. Emma turned to Henry. "I loved your father kid, but that doesn't mean I want to be with another man."

"That's fine by me." Henry said. "My friend Jake has two dads, and he said he can barely stand it." The three women laughed to themselves.

"Well there is always Ruby." Belle said earning a sideways glare from Regina. "I mean I think she is straight, but I have no doubt in my mind that she would give you a go if you tried Emma."

"Henry is still at the table." Regina said with a glare at both Belle and Emma.

"I know how dating works Mom." Henry said. "Like I said, I'm eleven not stupid."

Dinner ended on neutral topics such as the weather, Henry's comic books, and current events happening in the world. Emma excused herself after dinner. Regina walked her to the door while Belle took the dishes to the sink.

"Does Belle live here?" Emma asked hoping her curiosity wasn't evident.

"No." Regina answered. "She usually leaves after dinner."

"Ok. Thanks for having me." Emma said moving towards the door.

"You're welcome." Regina said letting the door close behind the woman. Emma leaned against it and ran a hand through her hair again wondering what the hell she was doing. She had been telling the truth when she said she didn't want to give up on Regina. However, she had felt her usual sensation to run when she thought about having dinner with Henry and Regina on a regular basis. She sighed before heading back to her car. She didn't notice that Regina watched her from the window.

As she was opening her car door, she heard footsteps behind her. Emma turned quickly thinking that someone was trying to surprise her.

"Hey Emma." Emma signed in relief when she realized that Mary Margaret was the person standing beside her. "I saw your car from the store, and I was hoping I could talk to you."

"Yeah, what's up?" Emma asked leaning against the bug.

"Ruby told me you've been staying at the bed and breakfast. If you're interested in having more than one room, I've got an extra bedroom that I've been looking for someone to move into."

Emma smiled to herself. For the first time in a long time she felt like someone was asking something of her to be nice instead of for their own agenda. She didn't answer so Mary Margaret continued. "I know you might not stay here long, but I own it so you don't have to sign a lease or anything."

"I'll do it." Emma said smiling at the woman standing across from her. "It would be nice to not come home at lunch time to Granny making my bed."

"Great." Mary Margaret said with a big smile. "You can move in whenever you want. It'll be nice not to eat alone every night." Emma didn't miss the sad smile on Mary Margaret's face.

"How about you come with me back to Granny's now? I'll grab my stuff and start tonight. I only have a few boxes." Emma said noticing again the way the woman's eyes lit up.

"That sounds fantastic." Mary Margaret responded before getting in the car.

Emma smiled as she drove towards Granny's. She didn't know why, but this place was starting to feel like home.


	5. Chapter 5

Emma woke up to Mary Margaret's shrill voice shouting loudly for her to wake up. Emma panicked thinking that something was wrong with Henry.

She stood up wearing a tank top and underwear frantically trying to shake the sleep filled haze from her body.

"Emma wake up. There has been an accident." Mary Margaret shouted as she slid her shoes on. Emma was working on autopilot hardly able to think. She slid on her jeans, socks, and shoes before throwing on her leather jacket. She jumped in the car two minutes later with Mary Margaret in the passenger seat.

She cranked the car and pulled out before asking Mary Margaret where she was going. She told her, and they sped in that direction. She thought something had happened to Henry or Regina. She was convinced that that is the only reason they would be calling her. When she pulled up, the scene before her made her heart sink.

The sheriff's cruiser was smashed into pieces up against a light pole. Three paramedics were standing at the side of the car discussing something in hushed voices. When Emma saw Regina, Belle, and Henry standing on the side of the rode, she breathed a sigh of relief. David and Kathryn Nolan were standing next to them with Ruby and Granny also at their sides. Every single face had tears flowing down it.

"What happened?" Emma asked.

Regina stepped up to her. "The sheriff was in an accident. They said he died on impact. He was trying to avoid that." Regina said pointing to the dead dear that had been dragged to the side of the road.

Emma felt her heart constrict. She didn't know Graham well, but she certainly knew that he didn't deserve to die. He was a good person. "They're taking him to the medical examiner in the next town. We don't have one here." Regina answered again chocking back a sob. At that moment, Henry wrapped his arms around Emma's legs and cried openly into her stomach. Graham had been very involved in the boy's life. Henry had told her that Graham was the only one that believed him about his story. Emma wondered for a moment who Graham thought he was in Henry's story before trying to sooth the boy in front of her. She ran her fingers through his hair trying to sooth him.

She looked up into the dark brown eyes of the woman standing in front of her. Tears streamed down Regina's face. Emma didn't know what came over her, but she reached out and pulled Regina to her letting the brunette bury her face in the crook of Emma's neck. Regina placed a hand on Henry's small body completing their circle. They stood there for a long time just crying. Emma looked around seeing David huddled together with Kathryn, Mary Margaret, Belle, Granny, and Ruby with tear stained faces.

They all stood there unable to move until the paramedics asked them to clear out so that they could remove the body. Emma sent everyone home and stood there watching as they wheeled Graham's body away. She stayed there until the tow truck came to take the shattered car. She stood there until someone else came to get rid of the dear carcass so that it wouldn't bring any animals into town. She stood there until the sun came up and just looked at the destroyed pole. She had never felt this way before, and Emma didn't know where to put her emotions.

She felt like she didn't blink until a coffee cup was placed in front of her face. Ruby smiled at her softly as Emma took the cup.

"Have you been here all night?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah. Is it that obvious?" Emma asked.

Ruby just gave her a sad smile. "I know you didn't know him, but he was a good man."

"I know. I could tell that. I've just never dealt with someone dying that I actually cared about." Emma answered.

Ruby eyed her curiously. Emma continued, "I never had a family or friends Rubes. No one close to me ever died because no one has ever really been close to me."

"What about Henry's Dad?" Ruby asked. When Emma didn't respond she spoke again. "Sorry if I overstepped. You don't have to answer."

"I haven't seen him in eleven years." Emma answered. She thanked Ruby for the coffee before heading back to the station. She looked around very unsure of what to do. She sat at her desk and then looked down towards Graham's desk. His jacket was still sitting on the couch. She wondered if he had any family that would want it. She didn't see anyone at the wreck. She didn't really know anything at all.

She heard the click of heels coming down the hallway. She waited. When Regina came in she nodded at her. "I was hoping I would find you here Miss Swan." Regina's cold exterior was back up with no emotion whatsoever in her voice.

"What can I do for you?" Emma asked.

"The town charter states that any deputy currently in office when the sheriff can no longer fulfill his duties becomes sheriff. Since you are the only one, you get the honor." Emma heard the disdain in her voice.

"He died Regina. He didn't just move to another town." Emma said walking around her desk to stand face to face with Regina.

"I know he was your friend." Emma continued. "You don't have to pretend like you aren't upset."

"I have to be strong for my son." Regina answered. Emma didn't know how to respond to that.

"Does he have any family? I'd like to give them his stuff." Emma said motioning towards the jacket.

"No, he doesn't. His parents both died when he was young." Regina responded. "Get everything in order here with his paperwork. This office really could use some good cleaning up. "

"What about his jacket?" Emma asked. "Would Henry want it?"

"Sure." Regina said taking the jacket and leaving. Emma just shook her head at the woman who so quickly went from crying in her arms to pretending like it didn't happen.

Three days later that scene changed at Graham's funeral. Everyone shared fond memories of the sheriff including the mayor. Emma found herself tearing up at Henry's story about the time that Graham had tried to teach a seven year old Henry how to shoot a bow and arrow. Regina had nearly had an aneurysm when she came home to the event.

Emma couldn't look in Regina's direction because Belle was running her hands up and down Regina's back trying to comfort her.

A week passed without Emma even seeing Regina. She only talked to her when she called to ask how to get a file cabinet and file folders. She had cleaned the entire station by the end of that week. Every single piece of paper that had been stacked on the desks was placed in file folders according to the year of the incident. Every single corner of the office had been cleaned. That night Emma turned the lights off at the station. She didn't know why, but she felt like things were slowly starting to get back to a more normal pace around the town. No one would forget Graham, but people had to continue with their lives.

Emma sat at home and wondered to herself what Regina and Henry were doing. She decided to go check on them since a phone call was all she had received from either of them since that night.

When she knocked on the door, Henry opened it. He smiled at Emma. "Hey Emma. Now probably isn't a good time. Mom is upset, and she is upstairs."

"Let me talk to her." Emma said walking past the boy and upstairs to Regina's room. She wasn't expecting to see the woman sitting on the bed with dried tears on her face. Regina looked up when she heard Emma at the door.

"Can I help you sheriff?" Regina asked again snapping the walls in place.

"What happened?" Emma asked.

Regina looked at her with sad eyes before motioning for her to come to sit next to her.

_Earlier that night Belle had come over for dinner while Henry was still spending the evening in the woods with Ruby. Regina had no idea what they did out there, but Henry needed exercise in his life._

_They ate in complete silence neither one of them were exactly sure what to say._

"_We need to talk." Belle said._

"_What is it dear?" Regina answered placing her hand on Belle's. She knew what was coming, but it didn't change that it was going to hurt her._

"_We can't be together anymore." Belle began. She continued when Regina didn't answer. "I know how much you care about me Regina, and you know how much I care about you. This isn't love though, and I think you and I both know it."_

"_I do love you." Regina said letting her voice falter slightly._

"_I know you do. You love me because you want to protect me. You love me because it makes you happy to know that you can keep me from being touched by the big bad world. When I just appeared in those woods, you took care of me. I am grateful for that, but affection isn't the same thing as love Regina." Regina just stared at her with wide eyes. She knew the words were true, but she never expected Belle to say it._

"_I am grateful for you Regina, but I need to take care of myself. I'm sorry to do this so close to Graham's death, but I can't let you live like this anymore." Belle said._

"_Live like what?" Regina asked._

"_A lie. I see the way you look at her." Regina was taken aback by Belle's words._

"_I assure you that I don't know what you are talking about." Regina was defensive now._

"_Regina, the only person that knows you better than I do is Henry. I don't know what happened with you and Emma in the past, but I can't get in the way of you finding out what it can mean for your future." Belle smiled softly at Regina._

"_It is preposterous to think that I love Miss Swan." Regina stated in her official mayor voice._

_Belle just smiled and patted Regina on her hand. "You keep telling yourself that." Belle wanted to give Regina some time and space, but she was insistent that she didn't want the brunette out of her life._

_Regina had shut the door with her normal controlled look on her face, but she let a tear fall when Belle left the house. She didn't know why she felt upset. She knew that she wasn't in love with Belle, but she felt a loss. She knew Belle's words were true. She knew that all she had done was wanted to protect her from the world so that the world couldn't touch Belle like it had Regina._

_She went upstairs to her room telling Henry that she just needed some time by herself._

Regina stopped talking. She was shocked that she had let all of that come out to the person that she was supposed to hate more than anyone on the planet. This person was going to break her curse one way or the other. This person wanted to take her son.

"Now, if you are done invading my personal time and interfering with my life, you can leave." Regina said in a hard tone.

Emma just stood up and moved to the door of Regina's room. "If you need me, I'm here for you." Emma said without turning.

"I don't need you." It was the last thing Regina said, and it was the last word that Emma heard before she walked out of the house. She felt the venom laced in the words, but she knew they weren't true. She wondered for a second if they were true. She tried to shake it off, but she couldn't help the sinking feeling in her chest that Regina in fact didn't need her at all.

The next day Emma took Henry to lunch. She wondered if it was Regina's way of apologizing for how crude she had been with her. The talked adamantly about school and when Emma was going to take Henry to the batting cages. When she dropped him off back at school, she smiled at him and told him to look out for his Mom. She wondered how the kid got to leave school for lunch. Then, she remembered who his Mom was.

She made her way back to the sheriff's station to finish her paperwork to officially become the new sheriff. Ruby came in a few minutes later with a cup of coffee for Emma. She smiled her dazzling smile and Emma wondered how things would be different between her and Ruby if Regina had never entered her life.

Ruby sat on the desk. "Belle and Regina broke up." Ruby winked at Emma when she looked up.

"I know." Emma said flatly.

"So, the mayor is available." Ruby wiggled her eyebrows at Emma.

"Yes, she is." Emma answered.

"Oh come on Emma. We all know you have the hots for her. I see the way you look at her." Ruby responded. Emma just rolled her eyes. "I'm just saying that you better get on that before someone else does."

"Who you?" Emma asked.

"Oh no dear, but you never know." She left with a wink before leaving the sheriff's station.

It was late when Emma left the station to go home. It was nice out so she decided to walk home. On the way she walked down the street that contained the town hall. She noticed the smoke billowing out of the building immediately, and she also noticed the fire through the windows. She called the fire department quickly before she noticed that Regina's car was still parked in front of the building.

Emma ran in on autopilot making her way to Regina's office quickly. The brunette wasn't there so she headed for the stairs calling out for her. When she rounded the landing she saw Regina laying there with a thick board that had fallen from the ceiling across her leg. Emma felt the adrenaline as she lifted it off her body. Regina's ankle was swollen already. It may even be broken. Emma lifted her up to carry her out. She careful moved down the steps coughing on the smoke that continued to feel the building. When she ran out of the exit door, the fire fighters came running up. Paramedics circled Regina to check her over.

When they were done, one came over to Emma. "Sheriff Swan, she is going to be just fine. Her ankle is badly bruised, but it isn't broken. She said she will see her doctor tomorrow."

"Thank you." Emma walked over to Regina.

"You ok?" Emma asked.

"I'm fine." Regina answered. "Can I use your phone? Mine was in the building, and I need to call Kathryn. She is keeping Henry." Emma handed it over and waited before Regina gave her the phone back.

"Let me take you home." Emma said. She saw that Regina was about to protest so she continued to speak. "You can't drive Regina. You don't have to thank me. You don't have to talk to me. Just let me take you home."

Regina didn't say a single word to Emma the entire drive. When they got there, she walked her to the door acting as a crutch for the woman. Henry was concerned, but he walked to his room when Emma told him that everything was alright. Emma had Regina situated in bed with an ice pack on her ankle and it elevated before she turned to leave.

"Why did you save me?" Regina croaked out. "You could have just let me die. Henry would have been yours."

Emma walked closely to the other woman looking her dead in the eye. "I don't want Henry to be mine. I want him to be ours. If you don't want me to save you though Regina, next time I, well, I will do the same thing again and again because that is what good people do. That is what people do when they care for someone." Emma didn't look back at Regina. She walked out of the house. When she got home, she let herself cry for a second as she thought about potentially loosing Regina completely.


	6. Chapter 6

Emma couldn't help the smug grin that spread across her face when she heard the click of heels coming down the hallway into the sheriff's station.

"Mayor." Emma said looking up at the brunette ignoring the way Regina faltered when they made eye contact.

"I need to speak with you Miss Swan." Regina said in her official Mayor tone. Emma hated how hot it sounded. She hated the way it matched her aroused voice that Emma had last heard over three years ago.

"What can I help you with?" Emma said standing to meet the Mayor's gaze. Regina obviously wasn't sitting down.

"We are going to have to hold an election for Sheriff." Regina said with a grin.

"You said because I was the only deputy it was mine automatically." Emma said with an eye role. Even she could recognize one of Regina's schemes to get rid of her.

"That was until someone else stated their interest." Regina said. Her eyes lit up at the shocked expression that crossed Emma's face.

"Who?" Emma asked confused.

"Sydney." Regina answered.

"Your lackey that follows you around like a love sick puppy?" Emma asked with amusement in her voice causing the Mayor to get angry.

"He is a town official Miss Swan. I suggest you show some respect." Regina answered with an edge to her voice.

"I show respect when it is given to me Madam Mayor." Emma answered leaning closer across the desk letting her breath mix with Regina's feeling an internal victory when Regina's breath hitched.

"You will lose this election, and you will leave this town." Regina said anger obvious in her voice.

"Bring it on Regina." Emma said with a pop of her lips as she finished saying her name. Regina left in a huff then, and Emma didn't know where to place her emotions. She was angry. She was hurt. Regina wanted her gone out of this town. She tried to convince herself that it was because Henry was pulling away a little more every single day. Regina just didn't want to lose Henry. Emma felt a sinking in her stomach as she finally let the thought cross her mind. Maybe Regina really didn't want her. Maybe three years was really too long.

When Emma walked into Granny's at lunch time, she couldn't ignore the glaring looks being shot in her direction. Ruby walked over to the blonde as she sat down at the counter.

"Regina is a piece of work." Ruby said filling up a coffee for Emma.

"It's just an election." Emma began. "It'll be fine."

"You haven't seen it, have you?" Ruby asked.

"Seen what?" Emma asked confused.

Ruby didn't answer, but she walked away. She slid a newspaper across the table when she returned. Emma noticed her picture plastered across the front of it. It was a mug shot of her eighteen year old self after her arrest for Neal's stolen watches.

She groaned. So, this was Regina's game. The title stuck out like a blinking red sign. It read, "Who Exactly Is The New Sherriff?" Emma read feeling her anger triple as she continued to scan each line. It detailed her arrest. There wasn't a whole lot she could argue about that. Then, the story following that almost made her eyes bug out of her head. The story stated that Emma had been in jail again which she hadn't. It said she had come to Storybrooke after her release from prison. It said she had been placed in prison for embezzling millions from her corporation where she worked as a bail bondsman. She did work as a bail bondsman, but she certainly didn't embezzle any money. She felt her world turn on its axis. These were lies, and she could only imagine what would happen if Henry saw them.

She looked back up at Ruby. "This isn't true." She said slowly. "Well, the first story is true. The second one isn't."

"I'm not here to judge you Emma. I don't care what you did before you came here." Ruby answered.

"I'm serious Ruby. I didn't embezzle any money." Emma was almost pleading, and she could tell by the look on her face that Ruby believed her.

Emma left the diner unsure of what to do next. She knew what Regina wanted. Regina wanted her to react, but she couldn't. She couldn't satisfy the brunette in that manner. Instead she walked calmly back to the office intent on writing the speech that she would have to give against Sydney that afternoon at five. She would just explain that it was a lie. Hopefully, people would believe her. She laughed then. These people had no reason to believe her.

Five rolled around pretty quickly. Sydney did his speech first being sure to discuss every single lie that was printed in that paper. He painted the perfect picture of a criminal who he believed was here to bleed the town of all of their money before moving on somewhere else. Emma ignored him as she walked past before stepping up to the podium.

"I won't waste your time, but I just ask that you listen to me for five minutes. I will not stand here and put down Sydney, and I will not lie. I was arrested when I was eighteen for being in possession of stolen property that I didn't steal. I did have a son in prison. The same little boy that brought me here. Henry is the only reason that I am here." Emma heard the gasp from the crowd. Apparently not everyone knew that she was the biological motor of the mayor's adopted son. "I will say that the second story printed is a lie. I worked as a bail bondsman for Richard Leonard. I never stole a dime from him, and I spent quite a few years of my life putting bad people behind bars. I have the experience to do this job, and I am not a criminal. You don't have to believe me, but I am asking you to give me a chance." Emma stepped away from the podium then. Regina stood up to move to the microphone, but a loud sound from Ruby stopped her. Ruby approached the podium still wearing her apron from the diner.

"I have something to say really quick." She said looked at Regina. Regina paused, but she didn't sit back down. "I saw the story in the paper. I wanted to check to see if it was true for myself. So, I ordered a background check on Emma." Ruby gave her an apologetic look before continuing. "Her arrest at eighteen is detailed here. However, there is absolutely nothing else on this record. You can pick up a copy from Mary Margaret if you'd like to see for yourself. All copies are signed by the official who printed them. His phone number is on the bottom if you'd like to call and verify." Ruby walked off the stage then. Emma did her best to send her a thankful look.

Regina took the podium then and told everyone how to vote. The results would be announced the next day at noon.

Emma sought out Mary Margaret and Ruby. "Thank you both. Really. It means a lot." Emma said to the two brunettes.

"Regina has had a lot of control around here for a long time. Ruining your reputation was the final straw." Emma could tell that Mary Margaret was taken aback by her own tone of voice.

"I guess we shall see." Emma said.

Emma was restless the whole night, but she wouldn't leave the apartment because she didn't want to risk any new stories coming up. She watched movies with Mary Margaret who eventually got annoyed with Emma's continuous shifting and went to sleep. Emma didn't sleep a wink. She was at least content that Ruby stayed up answering her text messages with continuous reassurances.

When noon rolled around, Emma was afraid that her heart was going to snap out of her chest. She wondered if Regina had fixed the election. Then she remembered that the town council had been responsible for counting the votes. Regina wasn't even allowed in the room.

When the director of the board announced that Emma had won Regina literally looked like she could blow the entire town up with a blink of her eyes. The town seemed content with it before leaving not two minutes after the verdict was stated. Mary Margaret and Ruby were overjoyed talking about parties and cakes to celebrate Emma's victory. Emma thanked them for their help. She really was happy to finally have a friend. She turned to confront Regina.

"There." Emma said stepping right into Regina's personal space. "I won fair and square. Your lies can't help you win here."

"Is it really not true Sherriff?" Regina began. "The story is made up, but we all know who you are. A thief. A runner. A liar."

Emma was fuming then. She wondered for a second how she could go from thinking she was in love with Regina to complete hate in a matter of weeks. "I am not a liar."

Regina's eyes narrowed then. "We both know that you've been pretending to believe Henry. Giving the kid false hope. How do you think that will end?"

"It will end in him knowing fantasy from reality Regina. We both know it's delusional, but he needs some support." Emma noticed the smile that spread across Regina's face as her eyes glimpsed over Emma's shoulder. Emma turned them to see Henry's hurt face behind her. He turned and ran then with tears streaming down his small face.

"Henry." Emma shouted before turning again to Regina. "What the hell is wrong with you? You want me gone so bad, but at what cost Regina? You just hurt your son for your own agenda."

"My agenda Miss Swan is to keep my son." Regina sneered.

"Well congratulations, you just broke his heart." Emma said before turning intent to go after Henry. Ruby stopped her. "Let him have a minute Emma. Mary Margaret saw him go to the playground that he calls his castle. He wants to be left alone. She said she'll hang around out of sight. He'll be fine."

Emma shrugged then letting what had just happened sink over her. "We need to talk." Ruby said then grabbing Emma's hand. Ruby pulled her all the way back to Mary Margaret's apartment.

"Sit." Ruby said pointing at the couch. "I need to know what the deal is with you and Regina."

Emma looked down then before letting out a sigh. She wondered if she should tell Ruby at all. She didn't want Regina going after the girl that had been nothing but nice to her.

"We were, well we met a few years ago." Emma said vaguely. Ruby waited for her to continue, but Emma didn't.

"And?" Ruby finally asked.

"It was on vacation in Florida. We slept together Ruby." Ruby's hand shot over her mouth at Emma's confession.

"You slept with Regina?" Ruby almost shouted. She grinned then and stuck her hand out to give Emma a high five. "I knew there was a reason she was so happy after that vacation. She got laid! I remember because it was the only time she ever left, but she actually smiled at me once when she got back." Ruby paused for a minute to look up at Emma. "Wait, so what happened?"

"I panicked before she woke up, and I bolted." Emma answered feeling ashamed for it all over again.

"Oh Emma." Ruby said placing a hand on her leg. "If you had only known that Regina isn't exactly the hit it and quit it type." Emma laughed a little then as Ruby stroked her hair trying to sooth her.

"I know I screwed up. I never thought I'd see her again. Then, Henry came along. There she was standing there, and she looked so beautiful, but she looked so hurt too. Then, she was with Belle, and Henry was talking about fairy tale characters." Emma was rambling then. "I told myself that I was going to stay and fight for her because my feelings for her haven't decreased at all since I left that morning three years ago. Now, I feel like I hate her."

"There is a fine line between love and hate." Ruby said trying to reassure Emma. "Can I tell you something?"

"Of course." Emma answered curious.

"When you first got here, I was excited as hell. I thought that I'd finally have someone around to have a little fun with." Ruby wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"For a straight girl, you are so gay." Emma said with a laugh.

"Don't blame me. You're hot, and a girl gets lonely sometimes." Ruby said with a laugh. "Anyway, then I saw the way you looked at her, and I knew that you loved her. I knew it the second that I saw her slap you in the face that there was a story there. You have to understand Regina though Emma. She was never intimate with Belle. They barely even kissed. Everything was so superficial because Regina won't let anyone in. If you really believe in the relationship Emma, you have to make her let you in." Ruby finished her little speech. As Emma was about to respond, Mary Margaret came running through the front door almost taking it off the hinges.

"Emma, we have to go now." Mary Margaret said grabbing her hand.

"What is wrong?" Emma and Ruby said at the same time standing up.

"It's my fault. I looked away for one second, and Henry was gone from the castle. I can't find him anywhere. David said he saw him near the woods. Do you think he is running away?" Mary Margaret was frantic.

"The mines." Ruby said looking at Emma with fear written all over her face. "He told me there was proof in the mines."

"We have to go now. Mary Margaret call everyone you can. We might need some help." Emma took off then jumping into her car with Ruby to head to the forest. Regina was already there while a group of workers stood around the entrance of the mine.

"What the hell are they doing?" Emma asked running to Regina's side.

"They have to make sure it is safe to go in." Regina answered with tears streaming down her face.

Emma looked around. The entire town was around the edge of the mines watching. Emma turned to Regina then. "What can I do?" Emma let her hands fall to Regina's folded arms then and looked into her eyes.

"Help me." Regina said with desperation in her voice.

Emma turned then and ran to the workers. "Do you know if he is in there?" She asked the first person she reached.

"Yes. Someone saw him run in there." He answered.

Emma moved past them then into the mine ignoring the shouts of the men behind her that it wasn't safe. She was moving on autopilot then to save her son. She pulled out the flash light she had grabbed from the cruiser, and she let it illuminate the long deserted mines. She walked slowly listening as she went. She was deep enough now that all she saw was darkness behind her. She heard a sniffling in the distance, and she called out to Henry. When she reached the boy he was sitting in an old elevator shaft just staring straight at the wall.

She sat next to him without saying anything for a minute. "I'm sorry Henry." The boy didn't respond. "Adults are stupid Henry." He looked up at her then. "We grow up with these fabulous imaginations just like you have where we think anything is possible. Then, life happens, and we lose that. I'm sorry that I said you were delusional because you aren't. You're lucky that you can look past what others think is impossible and form your own opinion. You can't be mad at us old people because we don't have good imaginations. You can just tolerate us and know that we can't help it."

The boy smiled slightly then his face the only thing illuminated by the flashlight. "I know you don't believe me Emma, but you will see." He began. "I don't know how you will break the curse, but you will."

"I want you to believe that Henry even if I can't. I hope you make me believe because I'd love to believe in fairytales, but we have to go about this in a different way. You can't be so mean to your mom."

"But she is the Evil Queen." Henry almost yelled.

"Doesn't matter." Emma answered quickly. "She loves you. No matter what people have done in their past Henry, they deserve another chance. What did you think about her before you found this book?"

Henry paused for a second. "I loved her."

"Exactly." Emma answered. "That hasn't changed buddy. She is out there right now worried sick because she loves you."

"She didn't come in here with you." Henry pointed out.

"You and I both know that I wouldn't let her." Emma said with a smile.

"That's because you're the savior." He answered smiling at his blonde mother.

"And right now I am here to save you." The two stood. Emma was holding Henry's hand when the ground began to shake and rumble below them. Rocks crashed to the ground around them, and Emma used her body to cover Henry. After the rumbling stopped, Emma checked to ensure that Henry was alright. He was fine, but the rocks were now blocking their way out. Emma knew they had no choice but to go up the elevator shaft. They had to move quickly before it collapsed again.

Emma held Henry's hand and shined her flashlight. The shaft was almost five stories up to a level platform and what looked to be a door to the outside. Emma noticed the way the beams crossed on each side of the elevator. They would have to climb.

"Henry, I am going to need you to be very brave for the next twenty minutes." She said looking around. There really was no other option. "I am going to hoist you up there Henry. Then I will be right behind you. Promise me that you will not let go of that beam until I tell you to." Henry nodded then nerves obvious on his face.

They began the climb then carefully moving from one beam to another slowly. Emma hoisted Henry up before moving up to the same beam he was standing on. She continued to maneuver helping Henry climb the beams while maintaining a grip of her own. They were lucky that there was a beam every four feet or so. If it would have been higher they wouldn't have been able to make it up. After some time they both made it to the level platform panting from the exertion.

"Don't look down." Emma said with a smile. Henry looked back up at her. His face was red from pulling himself up. "I'm proud of you kid."

Henry smiled then. "Now what?" He asked.

Emma used the other end of the flashlight to bang on the metal grate. It was almost fifteen minutes before it flung open with two of the workers standing above it. They quickly pulled Emma and Henry out. Regina was running as soon as she saw them, and she grabbed Henry into her arms as soon as she reached him. She released him for a second to check his face for injuries. She looked to Emma then.

"What the hell happened?" Emma said looking around. "It collapsed down there."

Regina walked closer to Emma then pulling Henry with her. "They tried to dig through to the middle thinking it would get then closer to you two. They wouldn't go in after it collapsed. They were too afraid, but you weren't."

Emma just gave a little smile before Regina pulled her into a hug too. Emma let one arm wrap around Regina's waist while the other pulled Henry in. The two stood there locked into the embrace with their son until he finally started to wiggle out of the embrace.

"I'm sorry Mom." He said looking up at Regina. "It isn't your fault that you don't have an imagination because you're an adult."

Regina looked up at Emma then. Emma just gave her a small smile.

The crowd started to disperse leaving just a few behind. "Thank you Emma." Regina said again as Dr. Whale looked Henry over to make sure he was alright.

"I'm sorry too Regina. I'm sorry that I just swooped in thinking I knew anything about being a damn parent." Emma said looking down.

"It's alright. For Henry's sake, we need to do this together." Regina said.

"I like the sound of that." Emma smiled at her stepping closer.

"I don't mean together like that Miss Swan." Regina said, but she didn't move away.

"It's a step in the right direction." Emma said before looking up at Regina's face. Regina was watching Henry with fresh tears still present on her face. "Hey." Emma said pulling Regina towards her. Emma's arms were around Regina's waste again. Regina rested her head on Emma's shoulder and cried silently. "He's ok."

"Thanks to you." Regina said with a sad smile. "I just stood here."

"You know I wouldn't have let you go in there Regina. Besides, I'm the white knight." Emma said with a grin.

Regina knew that Emma was joking, but she also knew that it was true. She would have to try a different approach. She would let Emma co-parent Henry, but she couldn't fall in love with Emma Swan. That was the answer. Little did she realize that she already did love her.


	7. Chapter 7

Emma's head was pounding as she sat up. The bright light from the sun around her made her blink. Her mouth tasted like cotton, and she needed water. She stood on shaky legs thinking she would be making her way to the kitchen to get some; however, she fell back almost immediately. Her body ached from the way she had slept curled up on the couch. She had barely made it in the front door much less to her bed. Her boots, jeans, and white tank top were still in place. She laid back down and let her head try to calm down. She let the memories of the night before run through her head.

She had been sitting at the bar when Regina had walked in. The two sat on complete opposite sides of the bar as they drank. Emma smirked when a Jack and coke crossed the bar into Regina's waiting hands. There weren't many people in the bar that night, and the music was slow. Emma had come here to think, but she enjoyed the calming feeling of Regina being right down the bar. She let herself enjoy a few drinks before she got bold.

It was like the soft music playing knew exactly what was on her mind as the song changed.

_Settle down with me_

_Cover me up_

_Cuddle me in_

_Lie down with me_

_And hold me in your arms_

Emma stood behind Regina as the music flowed towards them. She tapped the brunette on the shoulder. She didn't say a world, but she held her hand out. Regina looked back and forth between Emma and her outstretched hand. Emma could almost hear the internal battle waging in Regina's head. Almost reluctantly the brunette took Emma's hand and stood. Regina let Emma lead her to the middle of the room. The blonde's hands slid around Regina's waist while Regina's hands linked together behind Emma's neck. Emma pulled her close, and they moved in a slow circle.

_And your heart's against my chest, your lips pressed to my neck_

_I'm falling for your eyes, but they don't know me yet_

_And with a feeling I'll forget, I'm in love now_

_Kiss me like you wanna be loved_

_This feels like falling in love_

_Falling in love_

_We're falling in love_

Regina relaxed into Emma's arms almost instantly as the music encircled them making it feel like they were the only two there. Regina felt safe in Emma's arms. She leaned her head down onto the blonde's chest. She could hear her heart pounding inside her chest. Emma placed a soft kiss to Regina's forehead, and she let the electric shock sensation shoot through her body.

_Settle down with me_

_And I'll be your safety_

_You'll be my lady_

Emma pulled back then and let her eyes lock on Regina's as the brunette lifted her head from her chest. Emma felt Regina's breath tickle her face as she exhaled. The music was almost intoxicating.

_Yeah I've been feeling everything_

_From hate to love_

_From love to lust_

_From lust to truth_

_I guess that's how I know you_

_So I hold you close to help you give it up_

Emma let the gravity of the words shoot through her as she held Regina close. She knew she would have to hold on until Regina was willing to give up and just love. She leaned forward inching towards Regina's lips. The anticipation almost had her shaking, but when she expected her lips to make contact she only met air. She felt the coldness instantly as she opened her eyes to see Regina darting towards the door. Emma ran after her.

"Don't run from me." She shouted outside of the bar.

"I can't do this. I told you that I can't." Regina said as she moved towards her car.

"Who hurt you Regina?" Emma asked causing the brunette to stand at her open car door with a sad look on her face. Emma wanted to run to her. She wanted to hold her, but she couldn't. She knew the boundary had been put down again. Regina looked down without responding.

"I won't stop." Emma said. "I love you Regina." Regina let the words sink through her as a single tear slid down her face. She got in the car without a word and drove off leaving Emma standing at the bar. Like any reasonable response to heartache, Emma turned around and re-entered the bar to drown her pain with her good friend Jack Daniels.

Emma finally moved from her couch to find that they didn't have any coffee left. She didn't want to take a trip to the diner, but she needed the caffeine. She walked slowly with her eyes shielded from the bright sun by a pair of sunglasses. A frantic man stepped out of the shadows by the library and stood inches from Emma.

"Sheriff, I need your help. My daughter is missing." He said. Emma moved on autopilot then as worry crept through her body.

"Where did you see her last?" Emma asked.

"At home. I put her to bed last night, but she wasn't there this morning." He said pulling Emma in the opposite direction than she had been traveling.

"Ok, calm down. Just take me there. We'll start there." Emma said following the man back to his house. She stood in his living room then. She knew the most important thing to do was to calm him down. She wouldn't get any valuable information from him in his frantic state. She noticed the coffee pot on the table with two mugs. "Sit down." She told him as she directed him towards the couch. She certainly didn't want him to pass out on her. Emma poured the coffee for herself and the man before handing him a cup. He sat it down, but he didn't drink it. Emma did. Her head was pounding, and she needed to think clearly about what was happening to help find this man's daughter.

"What is your name?" She asked.

"Jefferson." He answered with a wave of his hand annoyed at Emma's question that didn't relate to his daughter.

"Show me her room." Emma finally said as she finished her coffee cup.

She had to grip the wall as she walked to the room feeling a bit of dizziness. She chalked it up to dehydration from the drinking last night with lack of water intake. When she opened the door, she knew something was wrong. There was a bed with a pink comforter on it, but there was nothing else in the room except a wooden chair.

Emma spun on her heels then to confront the man. She felt the dizziness take over as she stopped in front of him. Her body felt like it continued to spin. Emma realized what was happening as her world went black. The last thing she felt was the impact of her head on the hard wood floor.

She woke up later with an increased pounding behind her eyes. She looked around slowly letting her surroundings sink in. She was in the wooden chair in the room. The light from the sun streamed in through the cracks in the blinds on the window making the dust on the floor obvious. She was tied with a rope around each wrist, but she was alone. It didn't take long before Emma had freed herself and cursed the fact that she didn't bring her gun with her.

She crept down the hall back towards the living room. When she peaked inside, she thought the coast was clear so she bolted towards the front door. It was locked. She tried not to panic. She turned to find another way out to be met with Jefferson pointing a gun at her.

"Calm down buddy. No one needs to get hurt." Emma said holding her hands up.

"I will be calm when you get my daughter back." Jefferson said with anger and hurt evident in his voice.

"Who took her?" Emma asked still keeping her hands raised to let the man know that he was in complete control.

"The Evil Queen." He said like it was obvious. Emma almost sighed. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She kept the incredulous look to herself. She didn't want to get hurt for calling this lunatic crazy.

"How did that happen?" Emma asked calmly.

Jefferson searched her face trying to figure out if she was listening or not. "Her curse." He spat angrily. "She took the happy endings. For me, that was my Grace. Now I have to look at her every single day with another family, and she doesn't even know." He grabbed Emma by the arm then moving her to a telescope. Emma looked in to see it trained on a family room window. She saw a man, a woman, and a small girl.

"I don't understand." Emma said slowly moving away from the telescope.

"The curse brought us here. Grace is my happiness, and the curse took her away. I didn't remember at first, but I do now." He said.

"How can I help you get her back?" Emma asked softly. She had dealt with crazy people before. The only way she was getting out of this one was if she made him think she believed him.

"Make my hat work." He said looking deep into Emma's eyes. He grabbed Emma again and pulled her back down the hall to a different room. Her eyes widen when they went in. There was a sewing machine in the middle of the room with black top hats everywhere. Realization struck Emma quickly.

"The Madhatter." She said slowly.

"The one and only." He said in a snide tone. "You are going to break the curse. You are Prince Charming and Snow White's daughter. You can make the hat work."

"I don't know how." Emma said looking down at the hat. He took it from the table and forced it into Emma's hands.

"You will figure out how. I need to get back to our land with my daughter. You will stay here until you fix it." He yelled. He left the room then locking Emma into it. The only light was the artificial light that shined from the bulbs above.

She stared at the hat. How the hell did she end up in this town full of insane people? She wondered if he had been talking to Henry. She hoped that her son hadn't been around this deranged man. She wondered if he had talked to Henry about what he thought happened, and Henry made him believe that he was a fairytale character. It wasn't farfetched that a man who honestly believed that his daughter was abducted to latch on to a story of evil queens, happy endings, and a curse.

She looked down at the hat. She had to think of a way out of there. The only weapon she could use was a pair of scissors, and they certainly weren't a match for the gun he had earlier. She wondered if she was crazy herself when she took the hat in her hands. She didn't know what she was supposed to do with it, but she willed it to work. She sat it down with a laugh. The hat needed magic to work, and this was America. There wasn't any magic there.

She waited for what felt like hours for the man to return. She had checked the door to find it locked and unmoving. She had checked the wall to see if a window had been covered over, but she found nothing. She checked the ventilation system to see if she could crawl out, but the opening was too small. It was dark outside when the door opened again. Emma stood immediately.

"Now that you are acquainted with my hat, make it work." He said throwing the hat down at Emma.

"I can't." She said defeated. She knew this was the end of the road. He was probably going to kill her, but there was no denying that she certainly couldn't magic a hat into working.

"You have to." He shouted. "I have been working for months on these hats. This one doesn't work. This one doesn't work either." He said as he threw the hats to the ground. "None of them work, and you have to make them work." He yelled right in Emma's face. His face was red with rage kicking in Emma's survival instincts. She was so close to him now. She put her hands on his shoulders softly acting as if she were trying to calm him. The man doubled over in pain as Emma landed a knee right in his man hood. She laid a punch right across his face knocking him out cold to give her time to get out.

Emma went for another door and was able to get out easily. She sprinted the entire way back to town running right to the mayor's front door.

She banged on it loud and hard. Regina opened the door with confusion etched across her face. She saw blood on the side of Emma's face, and she quickly was concerned.

Emma stormed into the foyer. "What the hell happened?" Regina asked quickly.

"I got fucking kidnapped." Emma snapped. "Some psycho who claimed that he was the mad hatter. Seriously. He said I was the savior, and I had to make the hat work. He fucking drugged me Regina. The blood on my head is from it hitting the floor. He pulled a damn gun on me." Emma was pacing the room then. Regina wasn't really sure how to stop her so she let her rant. "He left me locked in a room for hours with nothing to eat or drink. I thought he was going to kill me." Regina saw the tears then as the adrenaline was slowly leaving the blonde's small body. Emma wrapped both arms around herself.

Regina moved closer to try to sooth her without touching her. "It's ok." She spoke finally letting a hand run up and down Emma's back.

"It isn't ok." Emma continued to sob. She looked up when she saw Henry enter the room concern all over his face.

"What did he make you do?" Henry asked with a small voice.

"He wanted me to make his hat work." Emma said leaning into Regina as the tears continued to spill. The gravity of what could have happened to her was overwhelming.

"No." Henry said with fear in his eyes. "He wasn't supposed to hurt you. He was just supposed to make you understand. He was supposed to make you believe."

Emma and Regina's eyes widened at that moment as they realized why all of this had happened. "Henry." Regina snapped. "Do you see what this has caused? Miss Swan is hurt. She could have been killed because of your little fantasy."

Emma saw the sadness in Henry's eyes. She wanted to tell Regina to stop, but she was upset herself. All of this had been because of her son. Sure, he never told Jefferson to hurt her, but he made Jefferson believe that she could fix the hat.

"There is no curse kid." Emma said walking over to him and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Something really bad almost happened today."

"I'm sorry." Henry said before running out of the foyer and up to his bedroom.

Emma and Regina made eye contact then.

"I don't want him to be hurting." Emma said.

"He doesn't want anything to happen to you either. You know he feels like it is his fault, and I didn't actually help him feel anything other than that." Regina answered looking down.

"Just give him time. He'll talk when he is ready. He needs to understand how dangerous this was. It's his imagination. This guy is a complete psycho." Emma said trying to reassure Regina.

"Just stay with him. I need to go find this guy and lock him up." Emma said with a smile before turning the leave. She opened the door to walk out before she turned to lock eyes with the brunette again. "Regina, I am sorry about last night."

Regina didn't respond right away. "It's alright." She responded with her mayoral tone back in place.

"Today didn't do anything but determine me more. I know you aren't comfortable with this, but I want you to let me in." Emma said before turning and shutting the door leaving Regina standing there staring at the savior.

Now, she had to do damage control to make her son understand why what he did was dangerous. She hated that she was hurting the boy that she loved. She hated that she had to make him think he was crazy when in fact it was all true. She wondered then if keeping her curse was worth all of this pain.


	8. Chapter 8

It had been a week, and there was no sign of Jefferson what so ever. They searched his house. They searched the woods, but they saw nothing that showed that the man was still in Storybrooke. Henry insisted there was no way he had been able to leave because of the curse. Emma warned the family of the young girl about the situation in case Jefferson went after her. Emma promised to patrol by their house daily. Regina wanted Emma to stay with them after that so that the blonde would be protected. Emma's solution was to get an extra bolted lock to put on her door at Mary Margaret's. Besides, she carried a gun everywhere else she went.

Ruby approached Emma sitting in her booth at the diner. It was a Saturday, and Emma was sort of working. She was always sort of working since she was the sheriff. Calls were always forwarded to her cell phone, but the only time she was woken up in the middle of the night was when teenagers were acting up.

"Want the usual?" Ruby asked smiling down at her seated friend.

"I'll just have a coffee for now. I'm waiting on Regina and Henry." Emma answered.

"Oh, family lunch?" Ruby asked raising her eyebrows suggestively.

"Sort of. It's complicated." Emma said with a shrug.

"You mean you haven't weaseled your way into the mayor's bedroom yet?" Ruby asked with a smirk spreading across her face.

"It isn't like that." Emma said look frustrated. Ruby didn't say anything. She was about to turn to talk away when Emma sighed. "And no, I haven't. Let me tell you though it hasn't been for a lack of trying." Emma sighed again looked defeated.

"How have you tried?" Ruby asked sliding into the seat across from Emma. Granny shot the waitress a look, and Ruby just glared right back inclining her head towards Emma to let Granny know this was important.

"She has been letting me and Henry spend a lot more time together. It's been really cool actually. He has gotten much better at sports from the practice, and he is even considering playing baseball this summer." Emma answered initially. "Regina is there a lot. We talk without arguing most days except when I curse in front of Henry." Ruby laughed. "Last night though she finally asked me to stay after dinner for a drink. I guess I got over excited. We were talking in the study, and I tried to kiss her."

"She stopped you?" Ruby asked surprised.

"She said we can't. We can't go there because it would make everything confusing for Henry." Emma answered with a sigh. Emma looked up then to see Regina and Henry enter. Ruby got up from her seat. She shot Emma a sad smile before taking their drink orders.

"Would you rather have lunch with Miss Lucas?" Regina asked.

"No." Emma answered softly.

It didn't take long before Henry had launched into story after story about things that were going on at school and with his baseball practicing. He'd found a friend that liked to come over to play catch with him, and he was ecstatic about it. Apparently Henry hadn't had any real friends prior to all of this. He didn't say a word about the curse or fairytale characters and Emma found herself slipping into easy conversation with the mayor and Henry.

After they finished their lunch, Regina agreed to let Emma pay after quite a bit of back and forth over the topic. Emma walked the two to the mayor's Mercedes that was parked just outside.

Henry was already in the car. "Can I take him to the batting cages tomorrow?" Emma asked.

Regina looked down at Henry in the car before looking back at Emma. "Yes on one condition."

"What's that?" Emma said stepping closer. She wouldn't deny how much she enjoyed flirting with the mayor.

"I get to come to. I don't know anything about baseball, and it is all he talks about lately." Regina admitted looking down.

"Of course." Emma responded with a smile.

"Come over at noon. I'll make lunch and then we can go." Regina said opening the car door to slide into the driver's seat. Emma stood in the street watching the car drive down the road with a smile on her face. This would be slow, but she knew eventually she would get Regina to be hers.

That night Emma sat on her couch drinking a beer with Ruby. Mary Margaret was on another pointless date with one of the many single men that seemed to exist in Storybrooke. It was the same story every single time since Emma had been there. Mary Margaret came home on cloud nine thinking she had met the man of her dreams. Then, she would go on date number two and realize that she actually didn't like them at all. Then she would be sad for two days before she was asked on another date.

"Thinking about your girl?" Ruby said with a smirk.

"I don't have a girl." Emma answered taking a long swig of her beer.

"Then why do you keep looking at your phone?" Ruby asked.

"Because you aren't entertaining enough." Emma said with a laugh.

"Oh I could be Emma." Ruby smirked. "If you were single our time together would be a lot more interesting."

Emma laughed. "I am single."

"Let me rephrase that. If you were available we'd be having a lot more fun." Ruby said getting up to grab another beer. Emma watched her hips sway as she walked away in a tight pair of leather pants. She shook her head cursing the fact that she was so into Regina. She laughed then. She was happy that she was into Regina, but Emma wasn't used to moving slow. She didn't date people, and she was constantly at a loss for how exactly to impress Regina. It had never been this hard.

"I have a question." Emma said when Ruby sat back down. "I'm taking Henry to the batting cages tomorrow. Regina is coming to. What should I do?"

"Well, you could show her how to hit. You know, hands around her touching her. That usually works on me." Ruby answered.

"All someone has to do is teach you how to hit?" Emma asked.

"No. I mean I know someone is interested when they get close and touch me as much as possible. So, do that." Ruby answered. Emma wondered if that would work. She decided she would test the waters and see how it went.

"Regina is pretty different than you." Emma said.

"Oh I know that, but I think that both of us can appreciate the attention from a hot sheriff." Ruby answered.

Emma smirked before draining her beer. Tomorrow was going to be interesting.

She felt weird showing up at Regina's empty handed so she opted for buying an expensive bottle of wine from down the street. The store owner had been shocked when Emma stepped up to the counter with wine instead of beer. She knocked on the door slowly.

Regina answered and smiled at Emma. Emma walked into the kitchen behind her. Henry was upstairs finishing his homework before their outing. Regina had promised him that Emma could stay for dinner after if he was able to complete it correctly.

Emma handed over the bottle of wine with a sheepish smile. "I hope I'm not being presumptuous by bringing this. I thought we could drink it when we got back."

"Of course." Regina responded. "I told Henry you could stay for dinner if you'd like."

"I would." Emma said with a smile.

Lunch was uneventful with Henry talking non-stop about his new baseball bat that Regina had gotten him the day before. Regina left the room to go do the dishes and then change leaving Emma with Henry.

"I need you to do something about the curse." Henry stated. Emma almost sighed, but she listened anyway.

"What is that?' Emma asked.

"You need to cut a limb off of Mom's apple tree." He answered.

Emma looked at him wide-eyed. "You have lost your mind." Emma started. "I don't have a death wish."

"Here is the deal." Henry began. "That tree came here from the enchanted forest. The apples on it are poisonous."

"And what will cutting limbs off of it prove?" Emma asked.

"The book says that squeezing a poisonous apple will make it seep this black ooze. It's kind of gross, but if you cut the limb down the entire tree will dissolve into the ooze." Henry said like it was the most logical thing in the world. "I know you don't believe me." Henry continued. "Just do this Emma. You'll see. If I'm wrong I will never bring it up again."

As he finished talking, Regina walked back in the door. Emma almost gasped she her eyes roamed over the mayor's body. She was wearing tennis shoes, tight black yoga pants, and a baseball shirt with blue sleeves. It looked so different on her. It was so casual and so hot. Emma just stared.

"Ready to go?" Regina asked with a smirk appreciating the way the blonde's eyes raked over her.

When they got there, Henry was buzzing with excitement. "Calm down kid." Emma said with a smile. "Let me swing at a few before you go in."

Henry was about to object before Regina placed a hand on his shoulder. "Emma just wants to show you how to do it properly."

Henry calmed down then. She pulled the batting gloves over her hands. It was chilly in Maine that day, and she didn't want it to sting her hands. She showed Henry how to stand and how to hold the bat. She talked to him about how to watch the ball. She showed him the strike zone, and she showed him how to swing.

Regina smiled as she watched her son watch Emma eagerly. She had always envisioned finding someone that could be another parent to Henry. Before Emma came to town she knew it would never happen. Every single day the blonde was growing on her. She shook her head at the thoughts. If her curse broke, Emma would find out all the awful things she had done. Emma would hate her.

Emma took a couple of swings making it look easy. "Looking hot sheriff." Regina heard someone say behind her. Regina's eyes narrowing as she took in the approaching waitress.

"It's chilly today. I thought you guys would want some hot chocolate." Ruby said handing the three cups to Regina who sat them down.

Emma smiled at her. Henry did too. Regina wasn't smiling. "Thank you Miss Lucas, but we are having a family outing today." Emma smiled at Regina's answer.

"Sorry for the intrusion Madam Mayor." Ruby answered. Emma shot her an apologetic smile before Ruby headed back down the few blocks to Granny's.

"You've got an admirer." Regina said looking at Emma.

"Can we talk about Emma's love life later?" Henry asked. "I want to hit."

Emma and Regina both smiled at him as Emma switched places with him. She sipped her hot chocolate while the boy took his first swing. Emma spent the next ten minutes telling him to swing later, swing earlier, swing harder, keep his back foot still, swing level, and a thousand other critiques. Henry had yet to make contact with the ball, and he was getting frustrated. Finally, Emma stepped in to stand behind him. She guided Henry hitting a couple of balls before she stepped back out.

She grinned from ear to ear as Henry hit the next ten pitches. The final one he made contact with flew all the way to the back of the net. Regina clapped easily at the boys triumph. He looked so happy. Like any eleven year old, he got bored after about ten more minutes.

"Your turn Mom." He said as he stepped out.

"Oh no. I don't need to do it dear." Regina answered.

"Don't be shy. Emma can show you." Henry answered with a shrug bored with the argument already.

Regina stepped in. Emma stepped in tentatively behind her. She started giving her pointers like she had given Henry. Emma felt the spark as soon as her arms wrapped around Regina's to rest on the bat. Emma's front was flush against Regina's back. Regina's breathing was uneven as the first pitch flew by them. Neither one even attempted to swing the bat. Regina shook her head to try to focus before hitting a few with Emma. When Emma walked back she smiled as she made contact with a few more. Henry was cheering for her. Regina was so happy in that moment.

They headed back to Regina's house. Henry was sent to shower and cleanup for dinner while Regina and Emma prepared it. Regina only let Emma do meaningless tasks like pealing the potatoes and cutting up the tomatoes for the salad. Emma followed Ruby's advice and touched Regina as much as possible. Simple touches like brushing fingers as she passed something to her or a hand across her back when she walked by her. She felt Regina's intake of breath each time they touched.

They sat down for dinner while Henry ranted and raved about how much better of a hitter he was than Regina and Emma. Emma promised repeatedly before they finished dinner that she would take him again. Like any eleven year old, Henry shot upstairs after dinner to watch TV for two hours before his bed time. Apparently Sunday was the only day Regina let him watch TV, and he had a two hour limit. He made sure to take advantage of it.

Emma and Regina moved to the study with glasses of wine in hand. Regina took a sip first and smiled at the taste.

"This is very good." Regina told Emma sitting across from her on another couch. Emma frowned at this.

"I'm glad you like it." Emma said with a smile. "I need to tell you something." Regina looked up at Emma curiously.

"Henry wants me to cut a limb off of your apple tree." Emma started. Regina almost chocked on her wine. "He said that his book says it will turn into black ooze, and that will prove to me that you cursed them."

The sad look appeared in Regina's eyes. After having such a good day with Henry she assumed they would be able to move past this whole thing. Emma moved around the table to sit next to Regina. She placed a tentative hand on her knee. "I won't do it." Emma said.

"You should." Regina said with a sigh. "Show him that it doesn't happen, and he will finally believe that this is crazy."

"I don't want to mess up your tree." Emma said looking up into dark brown eyes.

"I will pick the branch." Regina smiled then. "You can cut it down tomorrow afternoon in front of him. He never has to know that I know you did it."

"If you're sure." Emma said finishing her glass of wine.

They shared another glass before Regina went upstairs to tuck Henry in. She yawned when she got back downstairs. Emma met her in the foyer knowing that the yawn was her cue to leave. Emma stood close to Regina.

"You really do look good in those clothes." Emma said with a smile.

Regina smiled too. "Thank you." She said. "Thank you for today. I actually had fun. Henry and I don't have many days like that anymore."

"Well hopefully I can change that." Emma said stepping closer still. She let her arms snake around Regina's waist and pulled her closer. Regina resisted at first before letting her arms drift around the sheriff's neck.

The stood there for a second holding each other before Emma leaned in. Before she got close enough to make contact with Regina's lips Regina moved her head to place a kiss on the sheriff's cheek.

Regina noticed the frown on Emma's face.

"Just give me time Emma. This is all I can give you right now." Regina said with a sad smile.

"It's alright." Emma said stepping back. Regina smiled before placing a final sweet kiss on Emma's other cheek. The sheriff beamed then.

She walked to her car with her hand over her still burning cheek.


	9. Chapter 9

Emma was standing in the backyard with a chain saw in her hands. Regina had agreed to let her pick up Henry from school so that they could cut down a branch of the apple tree "in secret." She eyed the branch that Regina had agreed to let her cut down.

"Ok." Henry said. "When it oozes, you will know that I'm right."

Emma stepped up to the branch and quickly cut right through it. She saw the look of disappointment on Henry's face when the only thing they saw was wood.

"It must not have been big enough. Do that one." Henry said frantically.

"No Henry. I am not destroying your Mom's tree." Emma said placing a hand on his shoulder.

"It should have worked." He said sounding so defeated in that moment. She wrapped her arms around him.

"It's ok kid. You can believe in fairy tales. There are knights in shining armor. There is true love. There are good people. There are bad people. It just isn't here." Emma said pulling back to look in his eyes. Her heart broke at the tears. He shook his head a little before walking back towards the house defeat and disappointment written all over his small face. He didn't talk to Emma for the rest of the time until Regina got home. He just sat in the living room reading his story book over and over trying to figure out what went wrong.

Regina walked in after six to see Henry standing in the kitchen. She walked Emma to the front door.

"How'd it go?" Regina asked.

"The tree oozed." Emma said as serious as she could. Emma chalked Regina's completely terrified expression up to the impossibility of that occurrence. Emma couldn't keep a straight face for long before she lost it in giggles. "I'm sorry. I couldn't help it." She said as Regina playfully swatted her arm.

"Is he ok?" Regina asked.

"He is a little disappointed I think. He wants to apologize to you." Regina felt a stab to her heart at Emma's words. Could she let her son apologize for something that she knew was true? It broke her heart for him to think he was wrong when he wasn't. She knew the curse would break eventually. There was only so long that she could hold out. Ruby red lips would eventually find themselves pressed against pale ones, and she knew she was powerless to stop it. We're all powerless to stop true love.

"Thank you for watching him." Regina finally said.

"Can I at least get a hug for it?" Emma asked with a smile. Regina stepped into the open arms and let Emma pull her close. She smiled into the sweet kiss Regina pressed to her cheek before stepping back to let Emma leave.

Morning came quickly for the sheriff. Regina had a task for her that day which consisted of going through a basement full of files. She was shocked when she saw them. She had honestly thought the files upstairs that she'd slaved over to organize were the only ones. There were at least five file cabinets that needed to be sorted through. Regina's instructions were simple. Organize them by things that related to the sheriff's station, things that related to town business, and any other categories Emma deemed necessary. So, Emma did the most logical thing. She went to Granny's to get coffee before starting.

Ruby put the cup in front of her as soon as she sat down.

"So, how's Regina?" Ruby said with a grin.

"Good." Emma said taking a sip of her coffee. "We're taking things slow. Really slow."

"How slow?" Ruby asked.

"I've gotten a peck of the cheek three times." Emma said. She couldn't help the grin that spread across her face at the feeling of Regina's lips on her skin.

"You need to step your game up." Ruby said.

"What are you talking about?" Emma asked.

"Come on Emma. I know your good looks alone haven't worked on every single person you've crossed paths with before." Ruby said looking at Emma like she couldn't believe they were having this conversation.

"I have no idea what you mean." Emma said exchanging looks with the waitress.

"A date Emma. Take her out on a nice date." Ruby said with an incredulous tone to her voice. She couldn't believe that Emma hadn't thought of this.

"I don't usually make it to a date Ruby. I'm more of a meet them in the bar, take them home, and then sneak out of the front door before they wake up kind of girl." Emma said finishing off her coffee.

"Not anymore you aren't. Go get flowers. Send them to Regina, and take her on a damn date." Ruby said giving Emma a sharp look.

"Fine I will. Geez." Emma said putting money down on the counter and leaving.

Thank God that the florist knew Regina's favorite flower. Emma ordered the bouquet and ignored the questioning stares from the florist as she read the note Emma had written. It said simply for Regina to meet Emma at Granny's the next night at eight. Emma knew it wasn't very fancy, but it really was her only option.

She drove to the station then to get to work on organizing the files. She found herself checking her phone every five seconds to see if Regina had sent her a text message. She realized she would never get any work done that way so she stuffed the phone back in her pocket. She'd hear from her eventually.

Ruby walked into the mayor's office just as Regina was placing the card back in the holder.

"Those are pretty." Ruby said with a smile.

"Yes they are." Regina said grinning down at them before she realized who had just walked in the room. The mayor's usual cold stare snapped back in place. "Can I do something for you Miss Lucas?"

"I just want you to know that Emma is really trying. She really does care about you." Ruby said.

"My relationship with Miss Swan is none of your business." Regina snapped.

"I know it isn't." Ruby answered. "Emma's my friend. She really does care about you. She knows she messed up before, and you should just give her this chance."

"I am giving her a chance." Regina said looking up to meet Ruby's eyes only letting her vulnerability shine through for a second before the cold walls were up again.

"You are going to go on the date?" Ruby asked with excitement.

"Yes I am." Regina answered. Ruby didn't say anything initially. "Anything else I can do for you?" Regina asked.

"Nope." Ruby said with a blush forming on her cheeks before she left the mayor's office.

Regina exhaled loudly. She smiled at the flowers and the cute note. Her curse was about to be broken, and she knew it. She knew it wouldn't be long before it happened, and she couldn't help but feel exhilaration wash over her at the thought of it.


	10. Chapter 10

Emma Swan was nervous. There was no other word that could describe how she was feeling in that moment. She was pacing around her flat wearing underwear. She hadn't dared put on a bra yet because that would commit her to a certain type of shirt, and she just couldn't handle that yet. None of her clothes made sense. There were her usual jeans, t-shirt, and leather jacket ensemble that Regina had seen a thousand times. There were quite a few skin tight dresses. That seemed too fancy for Granny's. She literally didn't have anything in between. She sat down on her bed letting out a frustrated sigh.

"Emma, are you ok?" Mary Margaret asked from her door.

"No." Emma groaned.

"Can I come in?" She asked. Emma slid a white shirt over her exposed torso so that her roommate could enter. Mary Margaret took in the clothes scattered around the tiny room.

"Are you going on a date?" She finally asked.

"Apparently I am going naked." Emma said sitting up to look at the heap of clothes again.

"Who is the lucky lady?" Mary Margaret asked trying to hide her curiosity.

"It's Regina." Emma said letting a smile spread across her face. She saw the serious look on her roommates face and decided to ignore it. She didn't know why the two didn't get along, and she really didn't care.

"Oh." Was the only response she got.

"My jeans don't seem special enough, and my freaking dresses are too nice." Emma said pointing to the garments like they were the most offensive objects she had ever laid eyes upon.

"Hold on one second." Mary Margaret left the room then and returned with a gift box in hand. "I was going to wait until next week to give you this." She began handed Emma the box.

"What's it for?" Emma asked a little surprised. She rarely got gifts.

"No reason. I saw it when I was shopping with Ruby, and it seemed like your style." Mary Margaret answered as Emma pulled out the gift. It was a button up shirt with a collar. It was almost the exact same color green as Emma's eyes.

"Wow. It's perfect." Emma said smiling up at her roommate.

"You just need those dark jeans, and you can wear your boots. A little more dressy than normal but not overdressed." She said with a smile.

"Thank you." Emma said standing up to dress. "I mean it. People never do nice things for me for no reason. I really appreciate it."

"Things are different now Emma. You live here, and we all care about you." Mary Margaret responded. She left the room then for Emma to get changed.

Ten minutes before eight Emma was sitting in the back room at Granny's. Ruby had gone all out. There was a single table in the room with a table cloth, beautiful place settings, and a candle flickering in the dim light. There was soft music coming from a speaker in the corner.

Emma felt the atmosphere in the room shift before she looked up, and she knew that Regina was standing in the doorway. She stood with a smile as the lovely brunette entered the room. She took in Regina's appearance. High heels met black stockings that disappeared under a tight shirt with a slit in the side. Regina's perfect waist was covered by a button up shirt very similar to Emma's except crimson in color. Emma let her eyes rake up to the unbuttoned button that left tan skin on display for her eyes only. Regina blushed at the way Emma's eyes looked over her body.

"You look fantastic." Emma said stepping closer.

"You don't look so bad yourself sheriff." Regina said with a smile.

"These are for you." Emma said gesturing to a vase of flowers that she had sat on another table.

"They're beautiful. Thank you." Regina said with a smile. She walked behind Regina to pull her chair out for her.

"I've never seen this place so dolled up." Regina said taking in the room. "Must be easy to get things done when someone who works here admires you." Regina's tone was playful even though Emma knew she was convinced that Ruby had a thing for her.

Granny brought them a bottle of red wine before bringing their food. Emma had decided on baked chicken, mixed vegetables, and mashed potatoes. She knew how healthy Regina was, but she couldn't ignore the fact that she'd be starving without some potatoes.

They ate in almost complete silence. Glances were exchanged across the table as Emma watched how elegantly Regina's spoon entered her mouth. Emma found it strange that she didn't feel the need to fill the air with conversation. She just smiled at the brunette when forks hit empty plates. Granny came to take them away, and Emma wasn't sure what to do next.

She stood abruptly as the song changed and offered Regina her hand. Regina smiled up at her and took it. Emma's arms wrapped around the brunette's waist pulling her closer. Regina's arms connected behind Emma's neck as her head rested on the blonde's shoulder. They moved slowly taking in the moment. Emma didn't want to break it. She didn't want to stop this feeling that encased her whenever Regina was close to her. She felt safe. She felt loved. She shifted when a head was lifted off her shoulder as green eyes burned into brown. She saw fear. She saw vulnerability. Most of all she saw love.

Emma leaned in then and softly let her pale lifts come into contact with crimson. The kiss was so delicate and soft like Regina's lips were glass that could shatter at any second. Emma savored the taste before she felt a jolt shoot through her body. It was like nothing she had ever felt before.

All of a sudden chaos broke loose. The ground felt like it had shifted, and Emma felt her body tingling. Regina was standing in front of her with her arms locked around Emma still. The love in the brunette's eyes was replaced by raw fear.

Voices were getting louder in the diner and getting closer. When they entered the room Emma stood protectively in front of Regina on instinct.

"Can I help you?" Emma asked with a bite to her voice. There was hostility in the air. There was hatred.

No one said a word until Mary Margaret and David Nolan busted through the crowd. Emma was taken aback by the tears that were streaming down Mary Margaret's face. She was flabbergasted by the fact that her hand was firmly in David's.

"Emma." She said softly rushing over to pull the blonde into a crushing hug as David wrapped his arms around both of them. Emma didn't move. She kept her hand firmly in Regina's. She stepped back slightly to wrench her body out of their hold.

"Get away from her Emma." Mary Margaret said quickly.

"What the hell is going on?" Emma asked.

More people were filling the room and Emma now almost had Regina pressed against a corner behind her. All eyes around her blazed with anger.

"She needs to pay for this." Mary Margaret said. "Your curse is broken. I told you it would fail. Good always wins."

"Curse?" Emma questioned as realization hit her like a ton of bricks. She spun on her heels. "It's true?" She asked looking right at Regina. The words were almost whispered, but they spoke volumes. Regina didn't answer. She just looked down as a tear left her eye. Emma couldn't help but to reach up to her face and wipe the tear away. The moment was broken by Dr. Whale yelled that Regina needed to be murdered. Emma turned around then literally holding out both arms to block Regina with her body.

"No one is murdering anyone." Emma said with a stern look happy that her gun was holstered at her side. She couldn't take on this mob alone.

"She took you from us Emma. For twenty eight years." Mary Margaret said with sadness lacing her voice.

"I am the sheriff." Emma barked. "This will not resort to anarchy. I will handle this." Emma grabbed Regina's hand then. She stepped forwarded as the sea parted. She kept her eyes trained on each person she passed daring them to lay a hand on the woman behind her. Regina held her head high refusing to look indignant to anyone in the diner.

They made the short walk to the station before Emma finally pulled in shaky breath.

"Emma, I'm so sorry." Regina said once they were in the safety of the station.

"Don't." Emma said immediately. "I just found out that Snow White and Prince Charming are real, and they are my parents. Parents that I have searched for my entire life. Parents that I thought abandoned me. I grew up thinking that no one loved me Regina. I grew up thinking that I was not capable of being loved." Emma let the tears flow freely then. This was all so confusing, and she didn't know how to handle the ache in her chest. The doors burst open then and Mary Margaret, David, and Henry came slamming though the door.

Henry was the first one to reach Emma and Regina. "Don't let them hurt her." He said grabbing on to Regina's legs as tears filled his eyes. "I know she's evil, but she's my Mom." The little boy looked up at Emma with a pleading expression on his small face.

"No one is going to hurt her." Emma said looking up at David and Mary Margaret.

"She has to pay." David said looking at Emma.

"With all due respect Dad." Emma said bitterly. "I need answers here, and this isn't your land. Here we don't murder anyone unless they have committed the appropriate crime."

"I think you will find this crime more than appropriate." Mary Margaret snarled.

Emma turned to Regina then and took both of her hands in her own as Henry stepped back. "Why?" Emma asked softly.

At that moment the ground began to shake. Emma thought it was an earthquake, but Regina felt what it really was instantly. She felt the tingling sensation as it laced through her veins. She reached for Emma's hand then grounding them from the spinning. She had no idea Emma was feeling it also.

David stumbled redrawing everyone's attention back to him. "What the hell was that?"

"Magic." Regina said simply. David recoiled then fear entering his eyes as he looked at Regina. All hell broke loose then as screams came from outside. David ran towards the station's entrance with Emma pulling Regina behind him. Henry tried to follow, but Snow stopped him. She locked the boy in her arms and pulled him to the safety of the sheriff's station.

Gold was standing in the middle of the street. Emma looked up to see a dark hooded figure circling around him. He was looking up at it, and it appeared to Emma that he was controlling it.

"Is that a fucking dementor?" Emma screamed.

"It's a wraith." Regina said fear shining in her dark eyes. The wraith swooped down then grabbing David. Emma watched as what looked like smoke pulled from David's body into the wraith's black hole of a mouth. Emma looked at Regina frantically. Her eyes widened as a fire ball formed on Regina's hand. It hit the wraith knocking it to the side, but it didn't stop until three more landed on it. David staggered then. Emma grabbed him keeping her hand firmly linked with Regina. Snow looked on in shock as David slowly got his bearings.

"What the hell was that?" Emma asked.

"A wraith." Regina answered. "You'd almost be correct in calling it a dementor."

David stood then displaying the mark on his hand. "Can we kill it?"

"No." Regina answered with a sigh. "It won't stop until it has consumed its target."

"What do we do?" Emma asked pleading with the brunette who still held firmly to her hand.

Regina thought for a second before an idea hit her. "Do you still have Jefferson's hat?"

"Yes." Emma said confused.

"We send it to another dimension." Regina answered.

The station became busy then. Henry was sitting in the office with Ruby. Ruby was there to protect him in case something went wrong. She'd displayed her wolf strength to Emma when she lifted a desk by herself to make room.

David was standing behind the hat to get the wraith to come towards it. Snow was standing near the office door tears streaming down her face.

"This is very dangerous." Regina said. "The wraith could kill us all."

Regina stood then looking down at the hat as Emma stood next to her. Emma pulled Regina towards her in a passionate kiss. David looked anywhere but at them. Ruby grinned while the Red inside of her wanted to be angry. Henry looked disgusted and turned his head. Emma forced her tongue into Regina's mouth getting lost in the feeling forgetting the situation and who they were around.

Snow cleared her throat then. "After this is over we can talk about how disgusting it is that your mouth has been on my daughters, but right now this isn't the place."

Emma pulled back then looking at a flushed Regina.

Regina squatted down next to the hat pulling the blonde with her. Regina spun the hat. It spun a few times as blue and purple swirled around it. Then, it stopped.

"Touch me." Regina said looking at Emma. Emma didn't say anything as she wrapped her hand around Regina's upper arm.

"How will this work?" Emma asked.

"You're the product of true love dear. The most powerful magic." Regina answered.

She swirled the hat again as what looked like a blue and purple tornado sprung from it. The two women stood as Snow opened the door. The wraith entered immediately. The women had miscalculated assuming the wraith would go around the portal to David. It headed right for Regina. Emma shifted to push the brunette out of the way as the wraith knocked her off balance sending her into the portal. Regina had been trying to grab her when she lost her footing and tumbled into the portal as it sucked in the wraith behind her.

David jumped but landed on cold ground as the portal closed. He stood with Henry, Ruby, and Mary Margaret staring down at the floor shock on all of their faces.

Emma landed on the ground with a thud as the brunette landed on top of her. They stood quickly as the wraith flew over them and threw the sky.

"We need to get out of here." Emma shouted.

"We're safe. It only goes after the marked." Regina said.

"Why did it go after David?" Emma asked.

"I think Gold commanded it too." Regina answered looking around at the forest that surrounded them.

"Where are we?" Emma asked thinking they were still in her world.

"Welcome to the enchanted forest." Regina said gesturing around her with both hands.

Emma's mouth fell open as she stared at Regina. Her world had just been turned upside down, and she didn't think it would be righted anytime soon.


	11. Chapter 11

"What the hell are we going to do now?" Emma asked immediately looking around at the area that surrounding them. All she could see was forest.

"You need to lower your voice." Regina answered.

Emma's head snapped to the side surprised at the tone Regina had taken to speak to her.

"We don't know what is here now." Regina answered in a much softer tone. "We don't want to draw unnecessary attention to ourselves." Emma checked her hip then. Her gun was firmly in place, and she was thankful for that.

"I think I know where we are." Regina answered. "Follow me." She said walking forward. Emma was amazed at how graceful the woman moved through the forest wearing a skirt and heels while Emma stumbled in boots. Emma gasped when they moved over the top of a hill. She couldn't believe the site in front of her.

The hill dropped to about a mile of forest, and she scanned over it until her eyes met the black castle that towered over the land. Emma had never seen anything like it except in movies. Huge towers rose to meet the sky with spikes displayed at the top. Darkness covered the castle, and Emma was surprised that it didn't have its own thunder cloud over it.

"What is that?" Emma asked.

"My castle." Regina responded with a smirk that Emma would soon recognize as her Evil Queen smirk.

After another half an hour of trekking through the forest, they entered the castle. It was in disarray from the years without anyone there to tend to it. The first main room that they entered didn't have any furniture in it. The ceiling was at least twenty feet above them. There was a huge opening in the middle of the room that held a circle of dirt. Regina was striding around the room with a fingertip running over the empty walls.

"What was here?" Emma asked pointing to the dirt.

Regina looked at Emma then like she had forgotten the blonde was even there. "My apple tree." Regina answered. Emma wasn't surprised by this at all.

Regina moved to a hallway then before opening a door that led into another chamber. This room wasn't empty. A huge four poster bed dominated the room with what appeared to be silk crimson colored sheets on it. Dust coated the entire room as the light from outside made it look more like a scene from a horror film than anything Emma had ever seen in a Disney movie. A small chest was placed against the wall.

Regina was standing in front of Emma all of a sudden pulling the blonde's head towards her for a searing kiss. Emma was lost in it immediately. When she felt hands under her shirt pressing to the pale skin of her bare back, she pushed back removing herself from Regina's grip. That same Evil Queen smirk was plastered on her face.

"I hardly think this is the right time for sex." Emma said, but her heart wasn't in it. Her heart was racing from the contact, and her brain was still recovering from her Regina filled haze.

"Oh dear." Regina said her voice an octave lower than it had been before. "There is always time for that." Emma saw the transformation before her eyes. Standing before her wasn't Regina. It was the Evil Queen seductive and confident in this land.

"We have to figure this out." Emma said quickly. "Henry is going to go crazy without us." Regina snapped to attention then remembering the land the two women had left behind. She straightened then.

"I need to change." Regina said looking down at her outfit. Emma watched as she moved then towards the chest that she had noticed earlier. Tan pants and a white cotton shirt were removed from the chest as Regina literally snapped her fingers to change. She turned around then, and Emma smiled at how much younger she looked wearing riding pants with a tucked in button up. She looked so casual in that moment that Emma wasn't sure what to think.

"You ride?" Emma asked.

"My father taught me." Regina answered simply.

"Was he in Storybrooke?" Emma asked.

"No, he wasn't." The look on Regina's face told Emma immediately that there was more to the story than that. Regina sank down to the bed then letting a tear fall from her face immediately. "I haven't let myself think about him in quite some time."

Emma stood beside Regina before gingerly sitting down beside her. She put her arm around the brunette who sank into her immediately. Emma imagined how it looked from an outside perspective. She imagined that the furious residents of Storybrooke had never seen the vulnerability that the mayor was showing in that moment.

"You can tell me if you want." Emma said after Regina's breathing started to even out.

"There is so much you don't know." Regina answered looking into Emma's deep green eyes.

"You can tell me you know." Emma said again.

"Emma, you are the first person I have let in in a really, really long time. When you weren't there that morning I woke up in Florida, I honestly was devastated, but at the same time I thought it was the best thing that had ever happened to me. You broke down my walls almost immediately, and that was terrifying. If I never saw you again, it would have been too soon." Regina had tears in her eyes again. "I'm the Evil Queen Emma. Everything you think you know about me from your worlds stories doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of the horrible things that I have done." Regina's tears flowed freely down her face then.

"That was a long time ago though." Emma answered. "Everyone deserves a second chance."

"Oh I have had many." Regina answered with a bite to her words. "It's funny. If I tell you my past, you will understand me, but you will hate me. If I don't, you will never understand me which means you will never truly be able to hate or love me."

Emma didn't know what to say then. "This is all confusing for me too." Emma finally answered.

They sat in silence for a long time brown eyes locked on green as the two women just looked at each other. Emma's head was spinning. She had learned so much about her own life. The woman that was standing in front of her was responsible initially for all the hardships in her life, but all she wanted to do was hold her. Emma wanted to tell Regina that everything was going to be alright. She wanted to tell her that they would get through it, but she didn't know if that was true or not.

"I killed him." Regina finally said breaking eye contact with the blonde who was now staring wide eyed at the brunette next to her.

"Who?" Emma finally asked.

"My father." Regina answered. Emma didn't respond immediately at all. She was floored as to why Regina would fill her father, but she understood it too. She would never forget her foster father when she was twelve. He had been a drunk, and he had taken turns beating Emma's foster mother and their only biological son. He never hit Emma, but he had shoved her a few times. Emma liked her foster mother, and she remembered distinctly the night that she thought about entering his room and killing him in his sleep by suffocating him with a pillow.

"Why?" Emma asked.

"I needed the heart of the only person that I still cared about to enact the curse. He was the only one besides…well, he was the only one still alive that cared for me at all." Regina answered.

Emma gasped. Regina had killed her own father in cold blonde to enact the curse. That was something that Emma couldn't really comprehend. She moved from the bed then standing and pacing in front of Regina. There had to be more to the story. Emma refused to believe that this was all there was. She saw the love in Regina's eyes for her father. It didn't make sense to Emma at all.

"I don't understand." Emma said.

"I was too far gone at that point. I was obsessed with enacting the curse and with punishing Snow White. I literally would have done anything at that point to leave this life behind." Emma could see the pleading in Regina's eyes, but the mention of Emma's mother left her feeling colder and colder towards the woman sitting in front of her.

Emma didn't say anything. She moved towards the door of the large room intent on going outside to clear her head.

"I killed Graham too." Regina said from the bed. Emma spun on her heels then. She had been there for his accident. There was a deer. It was a car wreck. How could Regina have been responsible for that?

"The huntsman." Regina finally said answering Emma's unspoken question. "I sent him to kill your mother in this land, and he failed. I took his heart and made him my slave."

"Wait, you took his heart?" Emma asked.

"Yes. Rumple taught me how to do that. You can control someone when you have their heart. You can also kill them by squeezing it." Regina answered with the same cold tone she had earlier.

"You had his heart in Storybrooke?" Emma asked.

"Yes. I used him for sex until the week before I met you. I stopped after that." Regina answered simply. Emma was shocked at the straightforward mention of this from Regina.

"Isn't that rape?" Emma finally asked. The realization caused the breath to leave her body.

"When we were in this land? Absolutely. I controlled him. Like I told you, I had no regard for anyone else. I got what I wanted, and I punished those who didn't do what I wanted. It was how I thought I controlled my own happiness, but I really was just making everyone else miserable." Regina answered.

"And in Storybrooke?" Emma asked.

"That is debatable I guess. Sheriff Graham without question consented to sleeping with me, but he was also cursed. I also still had his heart. We could argue to nuances of it all day, but it doesn't change what I have done." Regina said.

Emma's back was resting against the closed door. She had no idea what to think. Regina had just admitted to murder and rape. Emma wanted to run from the woman sitting in front of her, but she again knew there was more to the story. She knew she needed to hear it. In that moment she also knew that all she wanted to do was hold the woman sitting on the bed. Regina wasn't the Evil Queen. Emma knew that. Her thoughts crashed back to what Regina had said earlier.

"How did you kill Graham?" Emma asked.

"I commanded him to drive too fast. I thought he would get injured, but he died. It was my fault." Regina answered.

"Why?" Emma said pleading eyes searching Regina's face.

"He wanted you." Regina answered like it was the simplest thing in the world. "You have to understand Emma. I lost someone I loved dearly once, and the only reaction I had when that was threated was to remove the threat."

"I didn't want Graham." Emma said tears now flowing freely down her face. She was yelling, and she was stomping around the room like an angry teenager. "I wanted you from the moment I walked into that town. He wasn't a threat to you."

"I didn't know that." Regina shot back standing to meet the blonde eye to eye.

Emma didn't say anything right away. She was furious. She wanted to slap Regina, but she knew she couldn't make herself do that. She wanted her to pay. She wanted to understand. She knew that the world she grew up in was nothing like this one, and she knew the rules were different here. However, murder was murder especially murder over a love interest.

"What is the plan?" Emma finally asked. She felt exhausted all of a sudden as the emotions made her head pound.

"We go to your mother's castle tomorrow. If any of my supplies are still there, we can start the process of finding a portal back to the other world." Regina answered. Emma had a million questions. Why would Regina's supplies be at her mother's castle? That didn't make sense. She was too exhausted to continue to question it.

Emma turned then striding toward the door. "If you turn left in the main room, there is another bedroom at the end of the hall. The bed should still be there. We will worry about food in the morning." Regina answered as she kicked off her boots and sat on the bed.

Emma glanced back at the woman who had rocked her world just hours before. Regina met her eyes. "I've conjured up some water. It's waiting for you. I don't have any clothes for you. We'll have to make due with these."

Emma left the room then and walking without looking towards the room Regina had told her about. It was much smaller, and she wondered who had lived there before her. The question was answered when she saw a portrait of a man hanging high above a fire place. Henry Mills was printing in bold letters below it. It had to be Regina's father. Emma smiled momentarily at the name printed there. Regina had cared for her father. There was no question about that. She had named their son after him.

Emma laid down on the bed that was surprisingly comfortable. She felt confused and empty inside. She loved Regina, but could she get over the Evil Queen that she had been? She shook her head then. There was no way she would be able to figure all of this out. She still needed to hear the rest of Regina's story. Even she knew that the Evil Queen hadn't always been Evil. She knew the tenderness she had seen the night that she had been pressed to Regina skin on skin so many years ago. She knew how she felt when soft hands had pulled her into a hug. She knew how she felt when crimson lips had pressed into hers stealing her breath instantly.

Graham was dead. Regina's father was dead. She assumed there was a lot more blood on the queen's hands. She wondered briefly at the lost love Regina had mentioned, and she knew she could just have to give it time to let the story unfold.

She thought of Henry. The son she had known she had but had just met. She thought of David Nolan. He was Prince Charming. He was her father. She thought of Mary Margaret She was Snow White. She was her mother. Then, she thought of the nagging sensation that had been in the back of her mind that entire day.

Her parents had abandoned her. She didn't know the details of the curse, but she knew Jefferson's daughter had been there. Sure, Jefferson had been separated from her, but they had been in the same town. Emma had somehow ended up out of this land and in another where she was alone her entire life.

She had been abandoned by her parents that she now knew had been alive and well the entire time. She had been abandoned by the first person she ever loved, and she had no idea where he was then. She didn't care. Now, she had found friendship in Storybrooke. She made a mental note to ask Regina who Ruby was in this land. That friendship had been stripped from her. It was now changed forever.

Worst of all, she had found love in Storybrooke. Love with the adopted mother of her son. Love with the Evil Queen. Love with someone who had murdered, raped, and hurt many people. Love with a woman that had seemed to change during her time in Storybrooke. Love with the woman who was sleeping yards away from her. Love for the woman that she still wanted to stand up and march back into that bedroom so that she wouldn't have to be alone.

Emma knew her decision was already made at that point. She would stick by Regina until they got back to Storybrooke. She would learn her story, and she would make her own decision. She had a feeling that no one knew Regina's story. She knew that no one had ever taken the chance to learn her story or try to understand her. Emma knew that she would because deep down inside she felt the same herself.

No, she had never murdered anyone. She had held a knife to a man's throat for twenty bucks. She had no intention to kill him, but she knew that any change in the situation could have caused her to do so. She had never raped anyone, but she had willingly had sex with Henry's father when she was seventeen years old. That was statutory rape in the world she grew up in. Was he any better than Regina? Sure, she had consented, but in the eyes of the law she wasn't old enough to make that decision appropriately. The laws didn't apply in this world.

Regina had unknowingly given Emma a second chance by letting her be in Henry's life. Regina had given Emma a second chance by bringing down her walls just a little bit to let the blonde in. Emma would give Regina a second chance. She would decide for herself if the queen deserved to be considered evil.

She drifted off to sleep that night peaceful with her decision. Emma knew it would be interesting and hard, but she knew that this place with Regina was somewhere that she was supposed to be. Emma knew that not giving Regina this second chance would be the worst decision she ever made.

Regina had drifted to sleep right as Emma had. She had vowed to herself that in time she would tell Emma everything. Sure, it could blow up in her face. Her solution was simple. At this point, did she really have anything to lose?


	12. Chapter 12

Emma and Regina had left early that morning without saying a single word to one another. They walked in silence now across the rugged terrain. It wasn't hot, but Emma was certainly sweating from the exertion of walking through the wilderness. She considered herself a fairly fit person before this, but there was a huge difference between running five miles in Storybrooke and all of this climbing. The added weight of the sword Regina had insisted Emma carry didn't help her unsteadiness due to the extra weight on her left side. She also regretted insisting that she carry the larger bag Regina had prepared, but she had no idea what was in it. She regretted her chivalrous attitude immediately, but she couldn't help but smirk at the idea that formed in her head. The white knight and her Queen marching through a forest to get back to their loved ones. Emma literally was inside a new fairytale.

They stopped to rest at what Emma assumed was around noon due to the position of the sun. Regina handed her an apple and a basin of water again without saying anything. Emma was gracious for both the apple and the water. The silence, however, was starting to wear on her nerves.

"How far away is the castle?" Emma asked.

"At least a two day journey." Regina answered.

"So we are sleeping in the woods tonight?" Emma asked.

"Sorry princess, but we will have to." Regina said shooting Emma a look that dared her to argue their arrangements.

"I've slept on park benches before Regina. I think I can handle the forest floor." Emma answered taking a bite of her apple effectively ending their communication.

When midafternoon approached, they stopped because the two heard voices filtering towards them. Regina was really confused by this. Everyone should have gone to Storybrooke with the curse, but she knew that might not be the case because she didn't create this curse. Emma drew the sword immediately smiling at how oddly familiar it felt in her hand.

Regina and Emma saw the two women before they saw them. One was dressed in armor also carrying a sword while the other was wearing a long flowing gown. Emma shifted to try to see into the clearing, but the only thing she accomplished was snapping a twig. The two women in the clearing stopped immediately and looked around. The soldier drew her sword and moved the other woman behind her in a protective gesture.

Emma stepped forward first with her sword drawn.

The two women looked at each other for a few minutes trying to decide if they were dealing with an enemy or not. Regina stepped behind her out of their hiding place, and Emma couldn't help but put an arm in front of her in the same protective manner the other knight had displayed. Emma was worried that the strangers would recognize the former queen, but it didn't seem that they did.

"Who are you?" The soldier asked after the staggering silence.

"Emma." She answered simply. "Who are you?"

"Mulan. This is Aurora." Mulan said gesturing behind her.

"This is Regina." Emma said. Her eyes widened hoping that Mulan wouldn't recognize the name. Then, she wondered if anyone in this land even knew Regina's real name.

"Why are you here?" Mulan asked then keeping her sword raised.

"We fell through a portal." Emma answered like it was the most normal thing in the world. "We are just trying to get back to our land."

"Why are you here?" Regina finally asked stepping to Emma's side. Emma used her free hand to interlock her fingers with Regina's. She wasn't sure why. She didn't want Regina to hurt these women, but she wanted to make it perfectly clear that she would protect her as well.

Mulan looked down at their intertwined hands. "This land is a cursed land. For some reason our kingdom didn't get cursed. We've all been here frozen in time for almost thirty years. Recently, time started again."

"That would be because I broke the curse." Emma answered with a smug grin on her face. Regina's grip tightened on Emma's hand then silently communicating to her that she could not tell the two women who she was.

"You are from that land?" Aurora asked them.

"Yes. We both are." Emma answered.

"You are Snow White's daughter?" Aurora asked shock written all over her face.

"Yes, I am." Emma answered.

"Who are you?" Aurora asked looking at Regina.

"She was a friend of the royal family." Emma answered immediately. "We are heading to Snow White's castle in search of something to take us back to our land."

"Why would you want to go back?" Mulan asked finally lowering her sword. Emma mirrored the actions, but she didn't let go of Regina's hand.

"Our son is there." Regina answered quickly.

Aurora looked confused. "The two of you have a son together? The two of you are lovers?"

"Yes, we have a son together. It's complicated." Emma answered.

"What are the dangers in this land?" Regina asked changing the topic immediately.

"Just ogers." Mulan answered. Regina rolled her eyes at that. Undermining the danger presented by ogers wasn't a good idea. "There are only a few as we have taken care of most of them, but they are here."

"You brought a princess with you on a mission to kill ogers?" Regina asked.

"I vowed to protect her." Mulan answered in the same tone Henry would have used to say "duh" back in Storybrooke.

"Where are you two headed now?" Emma asked.

"Back to our village." Aurora answered.

"Then we will go our separate ways." Regina said.

Mulan simply nodded at Emma before the two passed them going in the opposite direction that Emma and Regina had been heading. Emma looked down at their intertwined fingers before releasing Regina's hand ignoring the cold sensation that washed over her at the loss of contact.

Emma was about to collapse by the time Regina said they should stop for the night. She was exhausted. She was sore already from walking and climbing throughout the day. Her feet were killing her. Emma wasn't sure if she had ever been this sore before and that included the times she had decided to do work outs with prisoners.

Regina picked a clearing that was up on a small hill. She told Emma that they would be safer there in case they heard anyone approaching. Regina took the bag from Emma and started to remove items before using magic to poof a tent into existence. Emma just starred at it. She still wasn't used to this idea of magic.

"Wait, why can't you just poof us there?" Emma asked.

"Poof us there? Dear, you have been watching to many television shows about magic." Regina began to reply before moving into the tent. Emma followed. "It takes energy to use magic. If I poofed us there it would take so much energy that I would have to rest for at least three days after that."

"Oh ok." Emma responded looking around at the tent that just had two simple sleeping bags and two pillows at the bottom of it. "I'm hungry."

"We already ate dinner." Regina said.

"No, we ate an apple for lunch and some kind of salad thing for dinner. That might cut it for you, but I usually eat at least a burger, grilled cheese, and a pound of fries a day." Emma responded rubbing her stomach just thinking about fries.

"Your cardiovascular health isn't my concern Miss Swan. I have an apple that you can have, but that is it." Regina responded tossing Emma the apple.

Emma sat down far away from Regina to eat it. She stood her jacket off then before removing her boots and button up. When she moved to remove her socks, Regina stopped her. "It gets quite cold here at night. You may want to leave those on." Emma knew that she couldn't sleep in jeans so she decided to risk it and take them off. Emma was in her sleeping bag with her back to Regina who seemed to be playing the same game.

"Regina." Emma spoke softly just in case the woman was asleep. Regina didn't respond, but Emma knew that she was awake by the intake of breath at Emma's words.

"For what it is worth, I'm really glad I didn't come through that portal with David and Mary Margaret." Emma spoke softly still afraid that the silence of the night might cause someone to hear her.

"Why?" Regina asked genuine confusion in her tone.

"I'm not ready to deal with all of that. Having a Mom and Dad, well, that is a little terrifying to me." Emma said turning over to face Regina's back. Regina didn't respond, but it wasn't long before both women had drifted off to sleep.

Emma woke up a few hours later, and her legs were ice cold. She moved from her sleeping bag quickly to pull her jeans over her legs. Her sudden movements startled Regina awake immediately.

"What's wrong? Did you hear something?" Regina asked sitting up quickly blinking rapidly to adjust to the lack of light.

"No. I'm freezing." Emma answered snuggling as deep into her sleeping bag as she could. Regina smiled briefly at how much Emma reminded her of Henry.

"One day you are going to stop being so stubborn Miss Swan. I know this land." Regina answered. She tried to go back to sleep, but she could literally hear Emma's teeth chattering. She knew they wouldn't get anywhere on their travels the next day if Emma wasn't rested.

"Get in my sleeping bag." Regina said. Emma couldn't believe it.

"Excuse me?"

"Body heat sheriff. We can use your sleeping bag for another layer." Regina responded scooting as far to the edge of her bag as possible.

Emma slid into the confined space. It would have been comical if there wasn't so much tension between them. There was only about an inch of space between them, but they were both pressed to opposite sides of the sleeping bag. Emma was still cold even with the extra heat. So, she took a deep breath and put an arm around Regina to pull her back flush with her own front. Regina didn't protest so Emma fell asleep.

It was early again when they left, and Emma was thankful for her magic breakfast of eggs and bacon. They reached the castle in the evening without an incident or without anything other than necessary conversation.

Emma was in awe of the structure that towered over them. It was without question larger than the castle Regina had called home in the years before the curse. It was also lighter with pale grey stone and worn flags that still hung from various towers with what Emma could only assume were the colors of the kingdom. Small huts that were mainly intact littered the grounds. Emma imagined that the people who had served her family had been treated with respect by giving them these small cabins.

They waked in silence through the front gate and right through the front door. Regina's eyes seemed to glaze over at the sight of the grand room they entered. Everything was aged, but it was still the grandest thing Emma had ever seen. Three gold thrones sat at the head of the room with a huge banquet table in front of it that could seat at least 100 people. Elaborate art and tapestries hung from the ceilings and chandeliers hung from the ceilings that looked just like the ones from Cinderella. Emma chucked at that. They were probably close to Cinderella's actual castle.

Regina stopped in front of the throne and looked back towards Emma, but she was looking right through her.

"Were you happy here?" Emma asked slowly.

Regina turned and looked right into Emma's eyes. A thousand memories shot through them almost instantly. Emma saw happiness then fear then absolute hatred before Regina's eyes returned to the original pair that had initially glanced in Emma's direction so many years ago.

"I thought I was going to be." Regina said sitting down without thinking in the smaller chair right next to the large one in the center. She gasped and jumped back up immediately. Regina didn't continue, and Emma didn't want to push so she didn't ask anything else.

They'd managed to get enough water from the small lake behind the castle to wash off a little. When Emma reentered the grand room, dinner was ready. Emma's mouth watered immediately. She looked down at what she could only assume was expensive china with meat, potatoes, and squash on each plate. Regina looked up at Emma as she entered. The conflicting emotions Emma knew Regina was feeling shone brightly in her eyes again. "I felt bad that you were so hungry yesterday."

"Thank you." Emma said. They ate for some time in complete silence.

"I really thought I would be happy here." Regina spoke. She was speaking to Emma, but she was a million miles away. "When Leopold asked for my hand in marriage, I thought that maybe it could be a new start."

Emma didn't say anything. The thought of Regina being a mother to Snow blew her mind. Regina was less than ten years older than Snow.

"I thought Leopold asked me because he thought he could love me, but that wasn't it at all." A single tear escaped Regina's eye. "I later found out that it was all a part of my mother's plot to make me the queen." Regina laughed, but it had a cold air to it that surprised Emma. "The king was a lonely man."

An ice cold shiver shot right down Emma's spine at the ice in Regina's words. She knew immediately that they had been spoken by someone else. They had been justification for something horrible that had happened to Regina.

Emma placed her hand over Regina's that rested beside her forgotten dinner. "You can tell me."

"I know." Regina said with a sad smile. "When I moved here, I thought I was finally free on my mother. I had lost someone really important to me, but I thought maybe I could start over. Second chances and all of that. My relationship with Snow was tentative, but I thought maybe I could be the mother that I never had to her. That all changed on my wedding night."

Emma unconsciously scooted her chair closer to Regina's knowing that they were getting to the difficult part of the story.

"In this world, your wedding night is precious. You find your true love, and you marry them. Then, you spend your wedding night together for the first time." Regina finally swallowed the lump that had developed in her throat. "I told him I didn't want to. I told him that I wasn't ready. I was still so young." Regina's tears flowed freely to the point that she was shaking. Emma was up from her chair kneeling next to Regina immediately holding the woman in her arms.

"It's ok." Emma said running her hand down Regina's back trying to sooth her.

"It isn't ok." Regina said. "I told him over and over that I didn't want to, but he did it anyway. And the truly messed up part is that I did it to someone else. Over and over, night after night, he would enter my bed chamber. Night time became like the hour of hell for me, and it made me hate him. It made me hate your mother to the point of no return. She saw what we displayed in public. She thought we were happy, and she thought that we were in love. She never saw the blood on the sheets in the morning. She never saw the tears that flowed down my face every single time we were alone." Regina's sobbing had stopped, but her body still shook in Emma's arms. Emma didn't really know what to say. She knew quite a few foster kids that had been sexually abused, but it never happened to her.

"How did it end?" Emma finally asked.

"I killed him." Regina said looking down at the floor. "There is so much blood on my hands Emma."

"Yeah well it sounds to me like not everyone is as innocent as all their stories like to tell us either." Emma responded.

Small pieces of the puzzle were starting to fall into place for Emma when it came to Regina's past. Something bad had happened when she was young with her mother. Her father didn't protect her from any of it. Leopold had used Regina for his own needs which just made Emma sick to her stomach to think about. Regina had killed Leopold. She had killed her own father. She had controlled Graham. It hit Emma then. None of that had been Regina. Regina had disappeared from existence the night that Leopold had married her. The Evil Queen had done all of those awful things. Emma just didn't think that person existed anymore.

Emma scooped Regina up and carried her to a small room that had been for a servant so they could sleep. Neither spoke, but Emma held Regina tightly in her arms hoping that maybe letting all of this out would help.

The next morning, Regina told Emma she had something to show her. Regina led Emma into the room slowly. Emma's eyes widened at what she saw. The windows were shattered. The mirrors in the room were also broken all over the floor. There was a white crib in the corner of the room with baby things all over. Emma took in the room along with the large black spot in the middle of the room. She knew instantly what Regina was showing her. This would have been the room she grew up in.

"What is that?" Emma asked pointing to the burnt floor.

"I don't know." Regina answered. "That was where the wardrobe was."

"What wardrobe?"

"The magic wardrobe. Your mother and father had Geppetto build it to send you to the world you grew up in." Regina responded carefully unsure of how she would respond to this new information.

"They abandoned me to save all of these people." Emma said running her hand over a worn out teddy bear.

"That is who they are Emma. Your mother and father would literally do anything for the greater good." Regina answered.

"We could have gone to Storybrooke though, and we could have been together even if we didn't know it." Emma said dejected.

"No dear. You wouldn't have been. The curse was supposed to take away Snow White's happy ending. That is why David was in a coma. You wouldn't have been together." Regina answered.

"Tell me about the curse." Emma said sitting down in the middle of the floor. Regina followed her actions.

"Rumple made it. God, there is so much you don't know Emma." Regina said looking into green eyes.

"Then tell me." Emma said.

"My mother knew magic my entire life. She used it to her advantage. Rumple had taught her everything she knew. I still don't know how they came into contact. It must have been before I was born. My father was a prince in another kingdom. My mother had been born a miller's daughter, and her aspiration was to become royal. I don't know how she married my father, but she did. In her opinion it was my destiny to marry and be queen. She didn't care what happened to me. My life was literally falling apart. I was cold and shut off to the world when I found out about the curse. I would have done anything no matter how awful it was to ruin everyone else's happiness because I wasn't happy. I thought if everyone was like me then I would finally be happy at the expense of everyone's misery."

Emma gave Regina an encouraging look. Half of her didn't want to know any of this, but she knew that she needed to. She knew it would catch up with her if she didn't.

"Rumple created the curse. He knew that you would be the savior, and he told your parents that. That is why they sent you through to save everyone. The curse was never about me though. The curse was always about him going to that world to find his son that he had lost a long, long time ago even before my time. I'm so sorry Emma."

"I'm not mad at you Regina. I still don't understand all of the details, but I understand you. You're just as much a pawn in Rumple's game as I am. That I am 100 percent sure of. We all have made shitty choices, but I don't give a damn about the past. We can't change that. Henry has a future that we have to look at. That is all that matters." Emma said standing and offering Regina her hand to help her up.

"What about our future?" Regina asked tentatively. Emma noticed how much younger she seemed in that moment.

Emma didn't say anything. Instead, she kissed Regina. It was brief, but it still took Regina's breath away.

"Did you find what we came here for?" Emma asked.

"Yes, but we need something more." Regina answered.

"What?" Emma asked.

"We need to go to the house I grew up in. My mother kept something near it that she never knew I knew about. I've got the ingredients I need, but one of them doesn't work anymore. The curse must have deactivated it, but I can fix it there."

"How far away is that?" Emma asked already feeling her body protest.

"Roughly a five day journey." Regina answered. Emma groaned. "I can "poof" us there as you call it, but we will have to stay there at least five days before I will have the magic to get us back."

"Well, Regina, hate to be logical here, but if it takes us five days to get there and then we stay there for a day, that is six days. If you poof us there tonight and we stay there for five days for you to rest, that is the same six days." Emma answered.

"You are infuriating." Regina answered with Emma's favorite grin.

"I know. Now poof away." Emma said as Regina took her hand. Emma felt like she was spinning until all of a sudden she wasn't anymore.


	13. Chapter 13

When Emma opened her eyes, she was met with chocolate brown ones looking right back at her. Regina seemed afraid to turn her head to look around so Emma did it for her. What she saw was a much more modest home than the two she had been in before, but it was larger than anything she had ever seen back in her own world. The castle was probably half the size of the first one they had visited, and it didn't carry any of the dark features of Regina's castle or the light features of the castle Emma's mother had grown up in. It looked unremarkable. It looked like one of those single family homes back in Maine that weren't small enough or big enough for people to even notice.

Emma could feel Regina's eyes on her so Emma turned her attention back to the brunette.

"Are you ok?" Emma finally asked.

"Yes. It has been a long time since I have seen this place." Regina responded with the same look on her face Emma had seen when they had first entered Leopold's castle.

"Let's go inside so you can rest." Emma said with a smile. She didn't remove her arm from around Regina as they walked into the abandoned castle. She didn't know why, but she knew that Regina needed comforting with their trip.

Regina walked to a small room without telling Emma where they were going. There was a double bed there with nothing else on the wall or anywhere else. The comforter on the bed was musty and dusty from lack of use. Emma was fairly certain that it had been over thirty years since the room had even had occupants in it.

"This was my room when I was a little girl." Regina finally said sitting down on the bed. "It looked different then. The walls were pink, and the bed had pink bed sheets all over it. I had dolls and teddy bears too."

"I wouldn't take you for a girl who liked pink so much." Emma said with a sideways grin.

Regina smiled back at Emma, but it wasn't the bright, happy smile that Emma knew so well. "I hated pink, but it was what my mother wanted."

"Tell me about her."

"I'm really tired Emma. Can we rest now?" Regina asked lying down. Emma knew that Regina was avoiding the conversation, but she figured the best thing to do in that moment was to let it slide.

The bed wasn't comfortable, but just lying down made Emma realize how tired she had been since their journey started. She wondered what Henry was doing in Storybrooke. She knew her parents would take care of him, but she knew that he was worried. There was no question about that.

Emma was lying on her back with Regina on her back next to her. Regina seemed to be hesitating about something.

"Come here." Emma finally said.

Regina wrapped her arms around the blonde then putting her head right on Emma's shoulder. One of Regina's legs was thrown over Emma's lower body. Emma let the comforting feeling take over her before she wrapped a protective arm around Regina and pulled her even closer than the brunette had already been. The last thing Emma remembered was the happy sigh that escaped from Regina's lips before they both fell asleep.

It was still light when the two woke up. For all Emma knew, an entire day could have passed. Regina stirred in Emma's arms a few minutes after the blonde was awake. Regina didn't pull back. Instead, she inclined her head to meet Emma's green eyes.

"Hey." Emma said running her fingers through brown hair.

"Hey." Regina responded with sleep still present in her voice.

On cue, Emma's stomach growled. Regina started to get up, but Emma stopped her. "Let me go get food. You can't use magic right now. You need to rest."

"Emma you don't know your way around here. It could be dangerous." Regina said slightly frantic.

"I will be fine. I'll take the sword and my gun. I'll stay close. Let me do something for you Regina." Emma removed herself from under Regina to stand up and put her boots back on. Regina wanted to protest, but they both knew there was no changing Emma's mind when it was made up.

Emma returned about an hour later with a rabbit and berries. She went straight to the kitchen that she had found before she left to find food. Regina was busying herself cleaning dishes for them to use to make the food. She gave Emma a smile when she saw what Emma was carrying.

"An hour for a rabbit Miss Swan?" Regina asked with her usual grin.

"It was like the only thing I found, and it is really hard to shoot a rabbit." Emma said with a shrug putting the rabbit on the counter top.

Regina looked at the animal, but she didn't see a gunshot wound. "I hate to trap it." Emma responded with another shrug. She continued when she saw Regina's skeptical look. "I used to hunt with one of my foster dads. I was only with him for a few months, but he was nice enough to teach me a few things."

Regina busied herself preparing the food while Emma watched. Regina cut up the two remaining apples they had and mixed it with the berries. After the rabbit was skinned, Regina looked down at the spot that Emma assumed would be where you would start a fire.

"No." Emma said when she saw Regina's eyes close. "I can do it." Emma disappeared out of the castle again before coming back holding leaves and two sticks. It took her quite some time, but Emma had a fire started without the use of magic. She looked up at Regina with a cocky grin on her face.

"See, you don't need magic to do everything." Emma said.

"No you don't dear. You need magic to do things quickly." Regina responded still wearing that cocky grin.

They ate in silence. It wasn't the most delicious thing Emma had ever had because of the lack of seasoning on the meat, but it satisfied one hunger that she was dealing with. The second hunger that wouldn't go away was for the brunette eating across from her. It had almost been four years since they had been intimate together, and Emma couldn't deny the ache she was still feeling to bed Regina again.

She shook her head. There were so many other things that she should be focusing on. They needed to get back to Henry, but she knew there was no way that would happen for at least four more days. She might as well enjoy her time with Regina if she could.

After dinner, Emma asked Regina if they should look for the objects they would need. Regina got Emma to start another fire to light a torch so that they wouldn't be in complete darkness as they descended into the basement. They walked down countless stairs before Emma was certain that they were at least 100 yards underground. When they reached a dead end, Emma was confused.

Regina started knocking on the various stones before she pushed one in. The brunette then moved to the side wall and pushing another stone in before moving to the wall opposite that one to push another stone in. Emma watched as the back wall slide free revealing what Emma could only assume was a room.

Emma entered behind Regina holding the torch for the brunette to see. Emma couldn't believe her eyes. In the middle of the room there was a basin of water. The water was spinning, and Emma had no idea what she was looking at.

"What is that?" Emma asked.

"It is all that is left of the restorative water. There used to be a lake full of it. My mother had to kill quite a few people to get this, and she thinks she is the only one that knows where it is." Regina responded taking something out of her pocket.

"What are we restoring?" Emma asked.

"A magic bean." Regina said handing the brown bean to Emma. Emma examined it, but it just looked like an oversized, dried lima bean to her.

"What does it do?" Emma asked.

"It will open a portal back to Storybrooke when it is restored." Regina answered. "I will just have to do a spell to make it work."

"How much magic does this spell require?" Emma continued to ask. She appreciated that Regina wasn't getting frustrated with all of the questions.

"That is why I need a few days rest dear. I should be fine doing it in two night's time." Regina answered. "These restorative waters will only work once. When the bean is restored, I will only have one opportunity to do the spell. I need to be sure it will work before I perform it."

"Ok." Emma said simply.

Regina took the bean from Emma and placed it in the water. Light emitted throughout the room before it went completely dark again. The only thing that remained in the basin was the bean that now glowed white and purple.

"Did it work?" Emma asked looking down at the bean.

"Yes dear it did." Regina picked it up and placed it back in the pouch it came from. "Two days, and we will return to our son."

Emma smiled a genuine smile then that matched Regina's. Emma laced her fingers through Regina's to lead her back into the castle. Night had fallen then, and Emma felt sleepy again. "Let's go to bed."

"I slept so well last night that I'm really not all that tired." Regina said.

"Like I said, let's go to bed." Emma responded pulling Regina towards her. The brunette crashed into the blonde quickly as their lips meant in a heated kiss. Regina's tongue was in Emma's mouth before Emma could even think about it. The fight for dominance quickly settled as they moved together both taking and giving as much as the other.

Regina pulled back first to take Emma's hand to lead her to the bedroom they had been staying in.

"Um Regina. I'm really sorry to interrupt this, but I really have to go to the bathroom." Emma said with sheepish smile on her face.

"It's fine dear. I'll be here when you get back."

Emma ran to the bathroom that was really more of an indoor porter potty. She ran back to the bedroom as fast as she could to see Regina in bed wearing nothing but underwear and the white button up shirt that she had been sporting during their entire trip.

Emma's mouth went dry when green eyes locked with brown. Emma kicked her boots off quickly before rumbling with her jeans. She almost fell over when she kicked them off her ankles. When Emma got to the bed, she wasn't exactly sure how to approach this. Regina was lying down closest to the wall so Emma slid in next to her.

Regina pulled the blonde in for another kiss that left Emma completely breathless. Emma's hands were immediately all over Regina's body. She ran them up tan thighs before sliding under Regina's shirt to lightly scratch down a toned back.

Regina arched into Emma's touch giving Emma the perfect opportunity to move from kissing Regina's red lips to sucking and biting on her neck. Emma's tongue swirled around the hollow of Regina's throat pulling small whimpers from the brunette. Emma used her free hand to unbutton and then slide Regina's shirt off her shoulders. Emma looked down as she continued to slide her tongue across Regina's neck at hard nipples and a heaving chest.

She moved down Regina's body then to swirl her tongue around one hard nipple before doing the same to the neglected one. Emma was buzzing from the taste of Regina on her tongue. The brunette pulled her back up quickly for another kiss.

Emma removed her own shirt and bra needing to feel her own hard nipples brush against Regina's as they kissed. Emma kicked her underwear off before assisting Regina in getting rid of hers.

They met again in a passionate kiss. They had only done this once before, but it felt so beautifully familiar to Emma. Regina's palm pressed firmly against Emma's abdomen before sliding further down to slip through her wetness. Emma moaned at the contact before moving her hand to Regina's thigh. Regina's fingers continued to slide up and down her center stopping just short of her clit and entrance. Emma mirrored the teasing as they continued to kiss. They broke apart for air just as Emma slide two fingers into Regina. Regina followed and slid two fingers into Regina.

Emma breathed in every single breath that Regina managed to breathe out as they slowly moved in and out of each other. Emma picked up her pace first hoping that Regina would follow as they both raced towards their orgasms. Their eyes were locked together as their nipples continued to slide together with each thrust.

Emma was so close, and she knew Regina was too from the way the brunette's walls clenched around her fingers.

Emma felt her own release creeping up on her before it crashed her over the edge. As her body shook, she felt Regina's wetness coat her fingers as the brunette came. They clung to each other as they rode out wave after wave of pleasure. Emma opened her eyes to see intense brown ones looking down at her. They lay there tangled together before Regina pulled back and turned with her back towards Emma. Emma wrapped her arms around the brunette whose breathing had evened out. Her eyes were closed, and Emma assumed she was asleep.

"I love you." Emma whispered into the darkness knowing that Regina wouldn't hear her.

Regina did hear her. Being in this place with all these painful memories was easy to forget when Emma was pressed against her, but the harsh reality of this place and what it had made her become made her realize that she just couldn't say it back. Not yet.

The two spent the next day mostly in bed alternating between sleeping and slow, tender kisses. Emma left the bed twice to gather food and bring them lunch and dinner in bed. They didn't talk much until after dinner when Regina put her plate down.

"I already told you about my father." Regina began. "My mother was the worst."

"Why?"

"She was a terrible mother." Regina said with a bitter laugh. "She never hit me, but the verbal abuse was awful. I was never enough. I was never pretty enough. I was never ladylike enough. I was never able to do anything the way that she wanted."

"What did she want?" Emma asked.

"She wanted me to be queen. She wanted me to act like a woman of the royal court should so that I would marry the kind." Regina responded.

"What did you do?"

"I rebelled of course. I never wore dresses, and I never did anything she said. She put a boundary around the property that would tie me up until she got there if I tried to break it. She would lock me in my room for days without food. My father would have to sneak it to me." Regina's tears flowed freely then.

"What happened to her?"

"When I left to marry Leopold, I thought I would never have to see her again. That wasn't true though. After I killed him, she came to me. She kept saying that she wanted us to take over the kingdom together, but I just couldn't let her ruin my life anymore." Regina paused for a second and seemed to contemplate telling Emma the next thing. She finally decided that she needed to. "When I started to train with the Dark One, I told him that I needed to get rid of her. I was the Queen, but she never left my castle. She never stopped making me feel like I would never be enough. She had wanted me to be Queen, and I still wasn't enough when I became Queen."

Emma rubbed what she hoped was a soothing hand up and down Regina's back.

"I pushed her through a mirror." Regina said.

"Wait, what does that mean?" Emma asked confusion etched all over her face.

"It was a portal. I don't know where it sent her. I have no idea where she is now." Regina responded. "She isn't in Storybrooke. I made sure of that. She isn't here. I have no idea where she is."

"Neverland maybe." Emma said with a laugh trying to ease the tension.

"It's possible." Regina responded. Emma looked at her stunned before remembering where she was. Of course Neverland was real. She was an idiot for thinking it might not be.

"No one is going to hurt you again Regina." Emma said pulling her into a hug.

"Not here maybe, but when we get back to Storybrooke they will want their revenge." Regina said with a bitter tone to her voice.

"I won't let them hurt you for Henry and me. Mary Margaret won't let them if I tell her I love you. I know she won't. She is too big a sucker for true love and happy endings." Emma said with a smile.

"You can believe that now dear, but they would never believe that I could be anything but evil." Regina answered.

"Evil can't love, and you love Henry." Emma reasoned.

"I love you too." Regina said after a few moments of silence.

Emma smiled a genuine smile at her before placing a kiss on her forehead. "Let's go to bed. Tomorrow you can show me around this place. Then, the next day we can go home."

"You consider Storybrooke home?" Regina asked.

"I consider home to be anywhere that you and Henry are."


	14. Chapter 14

When Emma woke up the next morning, the bed was empty. Light was streaming in through the window, and she wondered what time it was. She got up immediately sliding on her clothes to go find the brunette. Emma searched everywhere without any lucky before going outside and walking the castle grounds. It was almost an hour later when the blonde entered the stables to see Regina's standing their motionless. Regina's back was to Emma, but Emma could see the way Regina's shoulders where shaking. She was crying.

Emma was at her side quickly. Regina seemed startled by Emma's presence.

"Are you ok Regina? I woke up and you were gone." Emma said.

Regina didn't respond at all. She just looked down at the ground right next to a post. Regina's sobs continued to rake through her body, and Emma had no idea what to do.

"I can give you some time alone." Emma said stepping away. As the blonde got to the door, she heard Regina ask her to please stay. She returned to her spot next to the brunette and just let Regina cry next to her. After quite some time, Regina's tears had slowed down. She was still struggling to catch her breath.

"This has been the hardest story to tell you." Regina finally said.

"You don't have to tell me."

"I do." Regina said turning to face Emma. Regina looked so much younger in that moment that Emma was a little taken back by it all.

"His name was Daniel." Regina began taking in a shaky breath. "He was the first person I ever loved. He was the only person I ever loved until you."

Emma knew speaking wasn't a good idea. Regina was struggling to tell her this story, and she needed to be patient with it.

"My mother would have never approved of him. He was our stable boy." Regina said gesturing around the abandoned stable. "He told me that everything would be ok when Leopold asked me to marry him. He said we would run away together and get married."

A few tears escaped Regina's eye, and Emma moved to wipe them away. Regina stopped her hand. This heartache wasn't something Emma was supposed to be a part of.

"I told Snow White that I wasn't in love with her father. I told her I was in love with Daniel." Emma sensed the change in Regina's tone immediately, and she knew this was going to be the true reason for Regina's vengeance.

"She told my mother." Regina said in a tone that actually frightened Emma. "Do you know what my mother did?"

Emma didn't say anything, but she shook her head no.

"She waited for the night we were going to run away together. She stopped us. She killed him. She ripped his heart out all because Snow White couldn't keep her mouth shut." Regina said.

"She was a little kid Regina." Emma said, and she knew right then it was the wrong thing to say.

"She is the reason that my true love is dead Emma." Regina shouted. Emma stepped back at those words as she registered what Regina had said. The hurt was written all over Emma's face, and Regina's tone softened immediately.

"Emma please don't do this." Regina said as Emma began to walk out of the stable. "I loved him. There is no question about that. I thought he was my true love, and I still think that he was. If he wouldn't have been killed, so much would have been different. You would be off marrying some prince after living your life as a princess."

"But that isn't what happened Regina." Emma said stepping closer to her again. "He was killed, and it doesn't matter whose fault it was. Your mother killed him. If it wasn't for that moment, we wouldn't have Henry either. So, yes, you would still have had Daniel, but you wouldn't have had me or Henry. Would you trade us for him?"

Regina's eyes met Emma's with an intensity Emma had never seen before. "No." It was a simple statement, but it spoke volumes.

"I'm sorry this happened to you Regina. I'm sure Daniel didn't deserve that, but all I keep hearing is how your mother and the Dark One ran and ruined your life. They are to blame Regina." Emma said pulling the brunette towards her.

"I know." Regina said breathlessly feeling like a weight had been lifted off her shoulder with that admission.

"What do you think Daniel would want?" Emma asked.

"He would like you." Regina responded with a smile. "He always protected me, and you have done nothing but protect me and save me time and time again. If I was going to be with anyone else, he would want it to be you."

Emma smiled at her words. "Did you ride horses?"

"All the time. That is how I met Snow White." Regina answered. "She was on an out of control horse when I was out one day in the fields with Daniel. I saved her life."

Emma was surprised by this. "Yet another story that is left out of the book." Regina finished.

"I can't wait to get home so I can confront those assholes about all of this. My mother knows this story. How could she not tell me?" Emma asked frustrated.

"She doesn't know everything Emma. Like you said, she was a child. She just wanted a mother, and she didn't notice how hurt I was." Regina said with something akin to sympathy for Snow White in her voice.

"I will tell her." Emma said earnestly.

"I don't know if that will do anything to help honey, but I appreciate that you are going to try. Always the knight in shining armor." Regina said pulling Emma close.

"More like the knight in a leather jacket." Emma responded with a laugh.

"An awful leather jacket." Regina said in a playful tone.

"I am sorry that you lost him." Emma said. "I'm sorry about everything that had happened to you. I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you throughout all of it."

"It's alright dear." Regina said. "You are here now."


	15. Chapter 15

Nightfall came quickly in the Enchanted Forest. Emma and Regina had both been silent for the majority of the rest of that day. Emma felt like she was contemplating everything, but she also felt like she wasn't thinking about anything at all. Deep inside she knew that she just needed to go home. She needed to see her son. She needed to talk to her mother and father. Emma knew that no matter which avenue she took, she needed to spend the rest of her life with Henry and Regina no matter what path she had to take to make that happen.

They had made plans to go into the forest the next day to cast the spell. Regina swore that only two people who be able to go through the portal using the incantation she knew. There was no way that any strange animals or any other creature would follow them to Storybrooke. Regina seemed lost in thought. She seemed nervous.

When they got in bed that night, Regina clung to Emma tightly like this might be the last time she ever got to hold the blonde. Emma didn't want to say anything. She knew Regina had been through a lot earlier that day to tell her about Daniel, and she didn't want to push her too far. Regina needed her strength for the next day. When a cold tear slide down Emma's bare arm, she looked down at the woman below her.

She used her hand that wasn't wrapped around Regina to pull the brunette's chin up so that their eyes met.

"What's wrong?" Emma asked searching Regina's face for some indication to what was bothering the brunette.

Regina was trying to stop her sobbing to answer the blonde, but it took some time. "I appreciated your reassurances earlier." Regina began. "I know in your mind we will go back to Storybrooke, you will tell your story, everyone will forgive me, and we will live happily ever after. But, that probably isn't going to happen."

"What do you think will happen?" Emma asked knowing that what Regina had just said was one hundred percent true. Emma didn't see why it had to be any other way other than the way she had been picturing it since they had arrived here.

"I don't know. There is no question that they will want their vengeance against me. You might be able to convince Snow and Charming not to kill me, but that doesn't mean they won't lock me up for the rest of my life. That also doesn't mean that anyone else will allow that. We don't know how much say your parents will have. They are rightfully royalty here. There is no question about that, but the world you grew up in is different. In Storybrooke, they weren't owned or dirt poor. They had jobs, food, homes, and at least a little bit of money to spare. It isn't like that here. Here most of them were poor farmers or people who did hard labor. They were controlled completely even by the most benevolent king and queen." Regina's explanation surprised Emma. She hadn't thought of it from that perspective.

"They all trust my parents." Emma countered weakly, but it was the only thing she had.

"They do trust them. Here, they loved them. There wasn't a person in this land that didn't want Snow to be Queen, but they aren't in this land anymore. If it were up to all of them, I would have been dead before I cast the curse. Your mother stopped it every time. They won't trust her to deal with me."

"Maybe not, but they'll trust David." Emma answered.

Regina laughed then. It was the bitter laugh of the Evil Queen, and Emma wouldn't lie that it sent a shiver down her spine. "Your father is spineless. He will go along with anything your mother says, and they all know that."

"What about Archie? Ruby? They won't just let you die." Emma answered frustrated now.

"We should rest dear." Regina said. "Whatever happens, you make sure you take care of Henry."

"You know I always will, and I will take care of you too." Emma answered before placing a quick kiss to a tan forehead. Emma held Regina tight as they both drifted off to sleep.

It was still dark out when Emma and Regina both bolted upright in bed. They looked at each other in complete panic as another boom similar to the one that had woken them up sounded near the outside of the castle. They were both up in seconds pulling on clothes and grasping for their supplies. If anyone knew they were there, they certainly might be seeking their own vengeance against the Evil Queen. Mulan and Aurora could have figured out who they were easily.

They were about to leave the room when Emma grabbed Regina's hand. "What the hell is that?"

"I don't know, but I can honestly tell you that it probably isn't good." Regina answered. "The only things that can make that loud of a sound in this land are cannons, ogers, and magic."

"Which one should we hope it is?" Emma asked trying to calm herself down.

"Honestly none of them are good." Regina began. "Ogers are dangerous, but they are also blind. If we are quiet, we can get past them. Cannons are dangerous too, but we can take out the person firing it if they are indeed firing it at us. Magic is the one we should be afraid of because it is so unpredictable."

Emma pulled her gun out of its holster. She didn't care if there was a magical person outside. If she shot them through their head before they could cast a spell, everything would be alright. She forced Regina behind her even though Regina could probably protect them much better than Emma could. It was in her nature to go above her own abilities to protect the people that she cared about.

The two inched out of the castle and stuck close to the structure. They were masked in the darkness of the castle's shadow as they made their way around to the front grounds. Emma stopped Regina immediately when she heard voices. They both listened carefully. Emma could make out the hushed whispers of a man but that was it. She pushed Regina back a few feet so they could speak hoping that the strangers couldn't hear them.

"You know there are others here." Emma said in a hushed whisper. "Maybe they just found the castle. We should show ourselves."

"Emma we don't know who it is. That could be incredibly dangerous." Regina said trying to urge Emma to think rationally about a world she couldn't even begin to understand.

"Or maybe they are just lost. We can speak, offer them a place to stay if they seem alright, and leave tomorrow to go back to our son." Emma answered. Regina was contemplating Emma's words wondering if she really was overreacting. "Plus" Emma began "I can't wait to get you back to your mansion. I have always wanted to sleep in your bed."

Regina laughed quietly then. Leave it to Emma to make a sex joke when they could be in a potentially dangerous situation. Regina decided eventually that it was best if they show themselves.

They moved slowly around the castle towards the voices trying to get a peek at them before they revealed their presence. All Emma could see was a man in what appeared to be a black coat.

"Who is there?" Emma finally shouted stepping out into the light streaming from the moon that wasn't blocked by the castle pulling Regina behind her.

The two people turned slowly at the sudden intrusion. A man and a woman were standing there. Emma obviously didn't recognize them, but she could tell Regina did from the quick intake of breath that she took in. It was obvious from the way the woman looked shocked that she also recognized the brunette that was now holding tighter to Emma than she ever had before.

"We come in peace." Emma said. She would have laughed if there wasn't so much tension in the air.

"Who are you girl?" The older brunette woman said stepping closer.

"Emma Swan." Emma answered quickly. She couldn't think of a reason why she shouldn't be honest about that.

"What exactly are you doing here with my daughter?" The woman barked out effectively stunning Emma into complete silence. Regina stepped to her side then.

"Mother." Regina said sharply causing Emma to chance a glance at the brunette's face. She looked completely shocked and completely terrified.

"Well isn't this lovely." The man finally began to speak. "The mother and daughter reunion we have been wasting all of our time on. Came a little earlier than I imagined, but I am thankful for the delicious blonde by your side Regina. Where did you get her?"

Emma scoffed at the man, but Regina gave her a stern look to let her know that answering wasn't in her best interest.

"Captain." Regina said sternly. "I don't think this is any of your business."

"Oh it is love." He began. "See your curse cost me twenty eight years of being frozen. Now that I have found your mother I want my crocodile. Where is he?"

"In Storybrooke." Regina said bitterly.

"Don't lie to me." The man said stepping forward and Emma mirrored his movements to move in front of Regina again. Emma chanced a glance at the woman by his side. She was older, but there was no questioning her relationship to Regina.

"We aren't lying." Emma said speaking up. "We came here by accident. Everyone else is in Storybrooke."

The older brunette stepped closer then examining Emma closely. "She can't be." She said looking surprised as realization was clear in her eyes. "You are Snow White's daughter."

Emma nodded only. "Well dear, I didn't realize that kidnapping Snow's daughter would ever be a part of your plan. I knew your curse had been broken because life resumed here, but I honestly thought they would have killed you by now." Then, Cora saw it. She took in both of their outfits. Emma's jeans and tank top a contrast to Regina's riding pants and button up shirt. Cora remembered very well the last time she saw her daughter wearing that outfit. Her daughter had been in love then. They looked to comfortable standing so close to each other. Emma's stance was without question protective as she stood between Cora and Regina.

"You fell in love with Snow White's daughter?" Cora asked with laughter present in her voice. "You foolish, foolish girl. No one from the White family will ever accept you after all that you have done. I thought you learned from the stable boy that love was weakness."

Cora lunged forward before either woman could react then sticking her hand right into the upper left of Emma's chest. Emma gasped. Regina dissolved into tears immediately. There was nothing she could do to stop this again, and she couldn't believe it was happening for a second time. Cora tugged. Regina expected to see Emma's glowing red heart in the darkness of the night, but that isn't what happened at all. Cora's hand remained in Emma's chest as she tugged again. Nothing happened. Regina regained her strength then.

"Love isn't weakness. Love is strength." Emma said. "I love your daughter, and she is nothing like the person you crafted her to be. She is stronger than that, and she will always be stronger than you." Then, Emma swung landing a hard blow right to Cora's mouth. In the second that Cora stumbled and her hand left Emma's chest, Regina grabbed her hand. Ten seconds later they were standing in the complete darkness of the forest. Emma had no idea how far away they were from the castle, but she knew she couldn't see it due to the thickness of the trees around them.

Regina seemed panicked, and Emma tried to ground her by grabbing both of her shoulders. "Who was that guy?"

"Captain Hook." Regina answered.

"Who is the crocodile?" Emma asked.

"Rumple. Hook has wanted to kill him for a long time." Regina answered trying to catch her breath.

"What do we need to do?" Emma finally asked as she herself felt the panic in her start to decrease.

"We have to go." Regina said pulling the bean from her pocket. "We have to go now."

"You aren't strong enough to cast the spell." Emma said. "We can rest here. You will sleep, and I will protect you. At day break, you can open the portal."

"I may not be strong enough, but we are." Regina said confusing Emma. "You don't realize what you just did, do you?"

Emma shook her head.

"My mother is one of the most powerful witches that has ever existed. She should have been able to take your heart without a problem, but she couldn't. You have magic inside of you Emma." Regina said smiling at the blonde.

"But I don't know how to use magic." Emma said feeling a little terrified about this.

"You do. The product of true love. I can't believe I never thought of it before." Regina clasped their hands together then. "You have to think of something that has made you feel the purest joy and love that you have ever felt. Concentrate Emma. I know you can do this."

They stood there for a few minutes in silence. Emma's face scrunched as she concentrated hard on Regina's words. Nothing was happening, and she could tell that Emma was getting frustrated. Regina spoke to Emma then trying to get her to remain focused. "Tell me what you are thinking about."

"It was my second day in Storybrooke. You had already tried to get me to leave once." Emma said. "I saw you and Henry sitting in the diner having lunch. He was talking animatedly about something, and you were looking at him like he was the best thing in the world. You were looking at him like no matter what he was actually saying that it was the golden rule. I wanted to be a part of that so bad. I knew in that moment that the only place for me was sitting right next to you. For the first time in my life, I didn't really feel afraid. I didn't want to run. No matter what you threw at me, I knew that you were the one."

Emma opened her eyes to look down at their hands. She gasped at the glow that passed between them. She felt the magic bean between her and Regina's palms. As the seconds passed, the hand with the bean in it began to glow various shades of blue and purple in their palms. Regina began to chant something that Emma couldn't understand at all. The two were thrown back in opposite directions as a portal opened between them.

Regina stood and grabbed Emma's hand before looking up at them.

"Are you ready to go home?" Emma asked.

"Trust me dear. I am more ready now than I have ever been." Regina answered before the two stepped forward ready to return to their son.

As her concept of space and time was taken away from her, Emma knew in that moment as she clung desperately to Regina's hand that she would do anything to make sure they would be and would remain a family.


	16. Chapter 16

They appeared almost instantly right in front of Granny's diner. Emma wasn't sure if she was going to be nauseous or not. All of a sudden everything started happening at once. People were exiting the diner faster than Emma imagined was possible given the small door. Henry was the only face she recognized as he hurled towards his Moms. One arm went around Regina while his other small arm reached for Emma. They encircled him into their arms before Regina lifted him up. The boy had grown in the time they had been gone. Emma had one arm around Regina while the other arm was around Henry. She finally had her whole family back. Three foreheads pressed together as Henry continued to cling to both of them.

"I knew you would come back." Henry shouted as Regina put him down. Emma kept her arm around Regina's waist as the crowd got bigger. They were surrounded before Snow and David stepped through the crowd of people towards them. Emma was pulled away from Regina instantly as Snow pulled her into a hug. Henry remained clinging to Regina as she watched the exchange with sad eyes. They had been back for two minutes, and Emma was already someone else's.

Emma pulled away after she let her Mom hold her before she stepped back to Regina's side immediately putting a protective arm around her waist. Snow looked stunned.

"You can't tell me that you still love her after all you know now." Snow said bitterly.

Emma didn't answer. She just pulled Regina tighter to her side and pulled Henry closer to them.

"Emma she took your childhood. She took you from us." Snow said.

"I would appreciate it if we could move this somewhere quieter." Emma said with spite dripping into her voice. The crowd parted immediately as Snow led Emma, Charming, and Regina away. Emma gestured for Ruby to take Henry. There was a lot that she needed to say that he didn't exactly need to hear.

Inside the sheriff's station, the yelling started again. "She took you from us." Snow said calmly, but Emma could hear the anger in her voice. David was the one yelling. It was so incoherent that Emma had no idea what he was even saying.

"Everyone shut up." Emma shouted causing the room to suddenly become eerily quiet.

"You chose to put me in that wardrobe." Emma said standing right in front of her mother and father pointing a threatening finger in David's direction.

"We didn't have a choice." David shouted. "We had to save everyone. We sent you here to save everyone."

"But you didn't think about me for a damn second." Emma said turning towards Snow. Emma's face softened immediately at the look on her mother's face. "I grew up alone." Emma said repeating that same statement for what felt like the thousandth time. She looked back then at Regina and felt calmed immediately knowing that she wouldn't be alone again.

"We can't just let what she did go Emma." Snow said softly.

"What she did?" Emma asked again raising her voice. "How about what you did?"

Snow stepped back a little at that.

"Emma, you don't have to do this." Regina said from behind the blonde.

"I will do this. They should know." Emma said turning back to her parents. "Did you know that Cora ripped Daniel's heart out because you told her about them? Did you know that Cora verbally abused Regina her whole life? Did you know that she wasn't even allowed to escape? Did you know that your fucking father forced her to marry him? Did you know he fucking raped her?" Emma was screaming at the top of her lungs then.

Fresh tears were already flowing down her face as Snow looked down at the floor. "No." She finally said in the smallest voice.

"Did you know that the Dark One created the curse? He has been pulling the strings all along and you all have been puppets in his fucking game." Emma shouted again as the sobs took over and prevented her from speaking.

Regina reached for her, but David stepped in and tried to place an arm around his daughter. Emma pushed him away before seeking the comfort of Regina's arms. Snow watched them intently for a few minutes as Emma calmed quickly in Regina's arms. She took a moment to think about how she could have raised Emma. She thought of a small girl with beautiful blonde curls crying in her arms over a nightmare. She thought of how she could have been the one to do that instead she was watching the woman that hated her calm her daughter. She was watching the love exchange between them as her daughter's green eyes bore into the brown eyes of the Evil Queen. Emma seeking grounding that Snow or David couldn't provide for her, but there was no question that Regina could.

The blonde was calm when she turned back towards her parents.

"David and I are leaving. I need to talk to Henry. You two will sit in here and talk peacefully about all of this. You will listen Mary Margaret." Emma said moving towards her.

"I can't do that Emma." She answered.

"Mom, I need you to do this." Snow melted at the words. "I love her, and I will not be happy in my life without her."

Snow shook her head as Emma moved towards the door with David. Snow tried not to hide her disgust as Emma stepped back across the floor to place a soft, lingering kiss on Regina's lips. "Don't worry. I will be back in two hours for you."

David and Emma left leaving Snow alone with Regina. David was obviously uneasy about it, but he trusted his daughter. He also knew that Regina had been presented with many opportunities to actually kill Snow, but she didn't do it.

Henry was sitting in the kitchen of the mansion when Emma got there with Ruby. Emma could see the questions in Ruby's eyes, but she ignored them to take Henry into the study. He sat down on the leather couch. He looked so small in that moment.

"You can't let them kill my Mom." Henry said looking up at Emma with sad eyes.

"No one is going to kill her kid." Emma said.

"You haven't been here." He said. "Leroy wants them to execute her."

"And what has everyone else said?" Emma asked sitting down beside him.

"Archie thinks we should pay attention to how much she has changed. He said that there is no way you would love her if she wasn't different, but she killed Graham. Leroy said with magic she is unpredictable. He said she could kill all of us."

"She would never hurt you." Emma said placing a hand on Henry's shoulder.

"I know, but she was evil Emma. We can't just let her get away with that. That isn't the way the world works." Henry said looking down.

"Henry there is a lot that you don't know about the way the world works or her life. She never had a chance to be anything but evil."

"You can always decide to be good." He said looking back up at Emma.

"I know you think the world is black and white Henry, but it isn't. It isn't simply just good and evil. There is a grey area. Do you consider me good?"

"Yes." Henry answered quickly.

"Would you still think that if I told you that I have stolen money from other people before?" Emma asked.

"That is illegal Emma." Henry said.

"And that is evil right?" Emma asked.

"Yes."

"So, am I good or evil?" Emma asked looking at him.

"You're good. You did those things for survival." Henry said definitively.

"What if I told you that your mother did those things for survival?" Emma asked.

"I don't understand." The small boy said looking up at his blonde mother for some type of answer.

"Your mother had the world against her since she was a little girl. She loved someone once, and he was taken away from her so that her mother could make her queen. They hardened her. They made her who she was. No one ever loved her but the one they took away from her." Emma knew this was a touchy subject. She couldn't tell Henry too much because she didn't want her son to have to hear the graphic details, but she needed him to understand.

"Can I see her?"

"Yes." Emma answered before they left to head back to the station.

Snow was crying openly when Emma entered the building. Regina looked exhausted. Emma could tell that nothing bad had happened while she was gone, but she could feel the thickness in the air.

Henry ran to Regina then and jumped into her lap. He buried his face into her neck. "I'm sorry Mom. I know you aren't evil. You are in the grey area." Regina looked confused at first before she looked up at Emma silently having a conversation over their son's head.

"Everything is going to be alright Henry." Regina said. "I will take him home Emma. You need to talk to Snow."

Snow waited until Regina had left the building to look up from the desk. "I can't believe I never knew any of that."

"You were a little girl." Emma responded from across the desk.

"All the signs were there Emma. I should have been able to tell even as a little girl." Snow said crying again.

"No you shouldn't have. Your Mother died, and you just wanted someone else in her shoes. Everyone around here has to stop blaming themselves." Emma said. "I have to stop blaming you and David for being lonely my entire life. I have to stop blaming Henry's father for making me not trust anyone. Regina has to stop blaming you, and you have to stop blaming her. You have to stop blaming me for loving her. That won't help anyone."

"I know." Snow said after a few seconds of silence. "I am calling a town meeting for tomorrow. We will discuss what we will do then."

"I won't let them lock her up. I certainly will not let them kill her." Emma said intently.

"I know you won't." Snow answered.

Snow and Emma left the station then and went their separate ways. When Emma entered the house, she was amazed at how normal and quiet it seemed. She entered the kitchen, and saw a site that made her heart swell. Henry was sitting at the kitchen table eating dinner with Regina. She smiled when she saw that a place had been set for her. Regina turned when she heard the door close.

"Everything should still be warm." Regina said with a small smile.

Emma didn't know why the sudden change had occurred, but Regina seemed lighter. Regina seemed honestly happy for the first time in a long time. Emma moved to the table and put the food on her plate.

"Well, I sure am happy that I didn't have to catch this." Emma said with a small laugh.

Henry asked a thousand questions about the Enchanted Forest before he finally agreed to go to bed. David had agreed to keep guard outside of the house to make sure that everything remained calm. Emma was sure that the majority of the town was too afraid of Regina to make an attempt at her life.

"How did it go with my Mom?" Emma asked.

"Well, I think we will always have a long history, but I think everything has changed now." Regina answered.

"Are you going to tell me anything else?" Emma asked.

"No. Snow and I agreed that it would be best to keep everything, including that conversation, in the past." Regina said.

Emma loved the feeling of the comfortable mattress against her back. The silk sheets made her feel like she had returned from a long, very uncomfortable camping trip. She let herself sink into the mattress with Regina in her arms. She felt content for the first time in a long time. She wondered how long it would stay that way before all of the negative possibilities of the town meeting the next day seeped into her brain. Emma didn't sleep, and she knew Regina didn't either. They laid there quietly for most of the night until sleep finally overtook both of their bodies. In the end, Emma knew that she would do anything to protect Regina.


	17. Chapter 17

Snow looked exhausted from Emma's seat in the front row of town hall. She wasn't exaggerating when she said that the entire town was seated behind her. Regina sat to her right while David sat to her left. Henry was with Granny at the mansion. There were things that might be said today that Emma couldn't bear to let him hear. It was too much for the boy to have to deal with.

Snow had taken the morning to meet with every single person in town who wanted to meet with her to discuss the charges that should be brought against Regina. The meeting was simple. The charges would be read. However, there was a twist. In an unusual stroke of brilliance, David suggested that charges be brought against anyone and everyone who had done anything wrong. Ruby herself agreed to be charged with the murder of her boyfriend so many years ago to try to prove a point that bad circumstances led to bad things. Regina would have some type of punishment. There was no question about that, but Snow wouldn't allow her to be put to death or locked up. She wouldn't hurt her daughter like that.

After the charges had been read against everyone, a vote would be taken. The options were simple for each person with charges: prison, community service, or no punishment. Snow refused to put execution on anyone's list. Good people didn't kill other people no matter what the circumstances were.

Snow stood, and the room went silent.

"You have all been given the opportunity to discuss the charges you would like brought up against citizens of this town. I will read them off now." Snow began before holding up three cards. Three people would be getting charged with something, and Emma had no idea who it would be other than Regina. She hadn't been a part of any of the conversations that morning.

"Ruby 'Red' Lucas." Snow read out loud earning a gasp from the crowd. Emma looked to her right to find Ruby who sat without emotion on her face. She had known this was coming. "Non-premeditated murder. I would like to point out that this occurred when Ruby was unaware of the wolf inside of her which she had no control over. She now does have control over her wolf as evident by the fact that she has changed three times since the curse broke without any harm to anyone."

Snow lifted her head to look around the room before looking down at her second card. "Leroy or Grumpy as we know him." Leroy stood from his seat then, but a stern look from David had him sitting back down. "These crimes have all occurred here in Storybrooke, but they were never punished at all. Two counts of driving under the influence, thirteen counts of disorderly conduct, four counts of disturbing the peace, and ten counts of destruction of public property are the charges. I would like to point out that in this land these charges would have resulted in a loss of a driver's license, ten years in prison for the second DUI offense, over 1,000 hours of community service, fines of over $100,000, and inclusion in an alcohol control program. No one was injured in either DUI case; however, we cannot ignore the fact that someone could have been."

Snow looked around the room again before her eyes landed on Emma. Emma was holding Regina's hand tight in her own. The final index card she held in her hand made her stomach drop. "Regina Mills." You could have heard a pin drop in the room due to the silence. "The sexual coercion and murder of Graham Humbert, seventy four counts of kidnapping for the children brought here by the curse, four hundred counts of memory falsification and movement against their will for the adults brought here by the curse, one hundred counts of murder for guards and villagers from the enchanted forest, and the general use of dark magic. In this land these charges would either result in death or life in prison." Snow remained silent for a few minutes before she started to speak again.

"There is new information that we would like to make known before we put this to a vote. Cora Mills, Regina's mother, was verbally and physically abusive to Regina as a young woman. She grew up in captivity. As many of you know Cora was born a miller's daughter before marrying Prince Henry and giving birth to Regina. Cora also ripped out the heart of Regina's first love and killed him after I told her about him. Regina was forced into marriage to my father, and she was sexually assaulted by him after refused to be intimate with him."

Regina's grip tightened on Emma's hand at her weaknesses being presented to the entire town. "The final person I would like to call to attention is Mr. Gold. Before you vote you should know that he created the curse. Regina enacted it after being trained in dark magic by him. As he has disappeared, there is nothing we can do to detain him now, but we are aware of the reason behind this. Many years ago he chose to send his son though a portal instead of giving up his magic. The curse was cast to bring us all to this world where his son resides so that he could find him. We are unaware of his son's whereabouts; however, we have decided to add all of Leroy and Regina's charges together against the Dark One due to his part in this curse."

"I don't want anyone to panic, but the final piece of this puzzle is simple. Emma and Regina encountered Captain Hook and Cora in the Enchanted Forest. They were attempting to get to Storybrooke. I do not need to tell you the danger of that." Emma looked around at the crowd. They were silent, but there was fear obvious on their faces. If they were afraid of Regina, they were completely terrified of Cora.

Snow passed out three voting cards for each person with charges. They were to be placed in the appropriate boxes before the blue fairy counted them. The group was given a two hour recess while the counting occurred.

Emma stood in the empty room with Regina not aware of her mother and father watching them from the back of the room.

"Everything is going to be alright." Emma said pulling Regina into her.

"After today, I do not think they will put me to death, but I can't guarantee that they won't send me to prison for the rest of my life. If they do that I need to know that you will take care of Henry." Regina said sounding like she was pleading with Emma.

"You know I will." Emma said placing a kiss to Regina's lips. Snow was overwhelmed by the change in Regina's face. The way Regina looked at Emma showed nothing but true love shining through. The two women were standing there. Regina's hands were placed on either side of Emma's face while Emma held her by the waist. Foreheads were pressed together as they spoke softly to each other.

"I love you Regina." Emma said softly with a single tear spilling down her face.

"I love you too Emma. I hope you never doubt that." Regina responded. They kissed so long that David had to look away. Snow couldn't. Whatever happened today would affect Emma and Henry just as much as Regina.

After the two hours passed, everyone returned. Snow held in her hand the report from the blue fairy. She unfolded it slowly. Three hundred votes had been casted.

"Ruby Lucas." She read before reading the results out loud. "Four votes for prison, forty votes for community service, and 256 for no punishment."

"Leroy." Snow scanned the numbers before she read them out loud. She wasn't surprised by Ruby's votes, but she was surprised by this one. 112 for prison, 117 for community service, and 71 for no punishment."

She took the time to look at Emma and Regina before reading the final line. "Regina Mills. 210 for prison, fifty for community service, and forty for no punishment."

"This town meeting is adjourned. Charming, the blue fairy, and I will decide verdicts. These will be announced tomorrow morning at 9 AM. Those charged are the only ones required to be there." Everyone stood and exited at once before Snow rushed to Regina and Emma.

"Don't." Emma said before Snow could speak. "We are going home to spend what might be our last night together with our son."

Snow's heart broke at the hurt on Emma's face. Regina didn't seem fazed by the revelation.

Emma and Regina had decided to keep things happy for Henry without ignoring what could occur. "Henry." Emma began after they had finished dinner. "We want you to know that there is a high possibility that you mother will go to jail tomorrow."

"How long?" Henry asked looking a little bit terrified.

"We aren't sure honey." Regina said smiling at him. "We want you to know that so that you aren't surprised tomorrow."

"Ok." Henry said with a small voice. While Regina was making dinner Emma had a long conversation with him so that he understood that there really wasn't anything that could be done about any of this other than Regina cooperating with what they wanted.

That night Emma stood in the moonlight of their bedroom looking at Regina standing in front of her. They were both mentally exhausted, but they didn't want to sleep. Emma shifted. She had already gotten herself ready for the sex that she knew would come. It was going to be rough, and she knew it. Regina had been keeping her emotions inside all day, and she knew that she had to have some type of release before the next day came.

Regina was on Emma quickly roughly pushing her back into the bedroom wall. Regina forced her tongue into Emma's mouth relentlessly as she let her tongue explore every single crevice burning it into her memory.

Emma's hips pushed forward as the member that normally wasn't in her pants rubbed against Regina's thigh. The brunette growled into Emma's mouth before pulling back and pushing Emma down on the bed. Regina took her own clothes off before she climbed up the bed to a waiting Emma. It was easy to forget everything that was happening with Regina making her way above her. Regina helped Emma quickly out of her clothes before positioning the member at the entrance of her waiting center. There was no foreplay needed for this.

Emma watched from below as Regina lowered herself on it. Regina's hands were on Emma's tight stomach as she moved up and down. Regina's thrusts were hard as they met every lift of Emma's hips. This was rough and quick as dark red fingernails dug into Emma's skin. Regina's pleasure ripped through her throat as she came tumbling down on top of Emma. Emma let her ride out her orgasm before she removed the strap on earning a grunt from Regina. Emma kicked it off as slow strokes slid through tangled brown hair.

Regina's breathing evened out when dark brown eyes locked onto green ones. "No matter what happens, I am always going to be yours." Emma said with an intensity that normally would have scared Regina.

"I know." Regina said with a sad smile.

"Hey." Emma said bring Regina's lips up to her own. "Tonight is about us Regina. Let me take the pain away." Emma said pulling her in for another kiss. Spending the night making love after their getting out frustrations fuck was an easy way to forget the verdict that would be delivered the next day.

Town hall was again full as Emma and Regina sat in the very front waiting for Snow to enter. Regina's face looked impassive, but the way she clung to Emma's hand made it clear what she was feeling.

Snow entered the room. It was obvious to Emma that she hadn't slept the night before. She hated that she had been ignoring the effect that this must be having on her mother. The room was silent.

"Thank you all for coming. I would like to state that these verdicts are final. There will be no discussing them, and they will be served without question." Snow looked around the room as Charming stood next to her with a sword at his side in case anyone decided to object.

"Ruby Lucas will receive no punishment." Snow read out. Emma could hear Ruby's sigh. She knew that Ruby thought she deserved more. Emma also knew that there wasn't really a price that you could place on a life. "Leroy will serve one year in prison where he will be allowed to complete 1,000 hours of community service on Saturday and Sunday. He will be forced to pay $50,000 of the damages that he has caused." Emma looked back at Leroy who already seemed a little intoxicated. A year wasn't that long, but she wondered if he even had close to that kind of money. Regina had told her once that everyone was set to live a comfortable life, but it was obvious that there was a discretion in the wealth in the town.

Emma felt like an eternity pasted before Snow finally looked at her to read the final verdict. "Regina Mills will spend thirty years in prison in which she will promise not to use magic. She will be allowed out of prison on Saturdays to spend two hours using magic fixing anything that will be necessary in the town or helping anyone with illnesses or injuries. She will also receive two hours each Saturday to spend with Henry as we feel the boy should not be punished for her actions."

Everyone watched as Regina crumpled into Emma's arms. It was obvious by the expression on their faces that no one really believed Regina loved Emma until that moment. Regina cried freely into Emma's shoulder. She didn't cry for her punishment. She cried for her loss. Two hours a week she would spend with Henry. She would miss so much of his life. She would miss so much of Emma's life. Emma held her up as the brunette's knees had gone weak.

Emma pulled back and kissed her hard before Henry came hurling around the corner into his mother's arms. "I love you Mom." He said as tears streamed down his face. "I love you too." Regina said.

Snow spoke again causing all of the people to turn from Emma and Regina to her. "The blue fairy has magically reinforced the two cells in the sheriff's station. Emma will be in charge of keeping an eye on the prisoners during the day as well as ensuring that every obligation of their charges are taken care of. Leroy will be granted visitation for two hours each day. The following rules will apply to both prisoners. They will be given breakfast, lunch, and dinner that will consist of a balanced meal of Granny's choosing. There will be no alcohol consumption. The sheriff will not let either out unless it is within the conditions of their punishment. The sheriff will not enter either cell. The blue fairy's changes include blocking in the middle and side walls as well as the front wall. The only view into the cell will be from a small window. There will be sinks and a toilet in each for personal hygiene as well as a telephone for communication with the sheriff. They will be allowed pencils, paper, and books with a two letter a week allowance."

Emma's eyes never left Regina's. If there was an upside to this it was that she could at least be close to Regina. She pulled the brunette in for a kiss. "All prisoners will report to the sheriff's station at 5 PM." Snow stated as town hall erupted in discussion.

Before anyone could leave a loud bang erupted at the front of the room where none other than Captain Hook and Cora appeared. David drew his sword while Snow stood beside him. Emma and Regina stepped to their side. Regina's hands were already raised. The blue fairy joined them while Henry was pushed back towards safety.

"You may want to reconsider putting my daughter in prison." Cora stated. "You know what happens when her back is against the wall. Join me dear."

"No." Regina spat out. Her disgust was clear.

"No?" Cora laughed. "We could rule this town together dear. No need to be locked up for thirty years or stick around for mediocre sex." Cora looked right at the blonde. Emma was protective before. Now she was furious. No one called out her skills in bed.

"I will not join you. I will serve out the term that you put on me, and I will not let you hurt my family." A fire ball formed in Regina's hand before Cora could respond. It was deflected by the older brunette immediately before the two disappeared in another cloud of purple smoke.

Everyone panicked at once. "Everyone quiet." Snow shouted rendering the room silent.

She pulled the blue fairy, Regina, Emma, and David into the small room near town hall.

"We put a protection spell around this place for anyone who wants to stay, and we leave them here. We have to have a plan, and we will take down Cora. Are you with us Regina?"

Every eye was on the brunette as she looked up. "Yes, I am." It was a simple statement but it spoke volumes.

Few chose to leave. Most knew what Cora was capable of. They decided on a simple strategy. David, Emma, Regina, and Snow would go to the main street and meet Cora in two days time. In the meantime Emma would be concentrating on controlling her magic. They had a plan, but no one knew how it would end.


	18. Chapter 18

Two days inside Town Hall had Emma feeling like she was going to go completely insane. The blue fairy placed a protection spell with Regina around the building as well as Granny's. They had been using magic for Granny, Ruby, and the blue fairy to move back and forth between the diner and the building to ensure that everyone had enough food. Cots, blankets, shampoo, soap, towels, pillows, toys for the children, and other things had already been stored in Town Hall in case of an emergency that required all of them to be there such as a big storm Emma had looked wide eyed at this. To say Regina didn't care about these people was a complete joke. Emma, Henry, and Regina were sleeping in Regina's former office to get some privacy. The boy had been sandwiched between them since this started.

Emma was thankful that somewhere in the curse Regina decided to put a locker room in town hall. The reason was simply that she had always intended to add a gym to the building, but she never got around to it. There were fifteen showers and five toilets for three hundred people. That was a little complicated. Emma and Regina had been practicing magic. The only thing they had managed to realize was that Regina's own magic was a thousand times stronger when she joined hands with Emma, and there was no way Emma could perform any spells on her own.

Everything was quiet and frantic that morning at the same time. Granny had insisted that they all eat breakfast, but neither Emma nor Regina would touch anything on their plates. Emma was nervous about what was coming. She knew that one of the four of them might not make it back. She also knew that they could lose. Even worse she knew that something bad could happen to Henry. They had agreed on a few things. David and Ruby would stay at Town Hall to protect Henry and everyone else. David had objected to this, but Regina's insistence that he was best with a sword and the strength of the brunette would be difficult for Cora to get through even without magic.

The rest of the plan was simple. Regina and the blue fairy were responsible for Cora while Emma and Snow were responsible for Hook. He didn't have magic. Emma had a sword and a gun while Snow White's trusted bow and arrow were hung over her back. They stood at the door. Emma couldn't help but feeling like they were saying their final goodbyes to each other. Snow had hugged Ruby before embracing David. Emma could see them across the room as they stood in each other's embrace. Henry clung to both Emma and Regina as they both reassured him that everything was going to be alright. Emma had no idea how true that was. Ruby took Henry to the room that he had been designated to stay in. There was only one door to get into that room, and David and Ruby would be guarding it.

Emma wrapped her arms around Regina's waist as the brunette pulled her in by the neck for a kiss. Lips simply pressed together saying everything that needed to be said. Regina took a single swipe of Emma's lips with her tongue before she pulled back.

"I think this is the wrong time to make out." Emma said with a grin.

"There is never a wrong time for that." Regina responded with another quick kiss.

"I'll be by your side the whole time. Don't worry." Emma said trying to reassure Regina, but she didn't believe the words herself.

"I love you." Regina said quickly.

"I love you too." Emma answered before they pulled apart. The women went over the plan again before going out of the door and past the protection spell. Emma gasped at what she saw. The town was completely deserted. Various cars and buildings had been destroyed. There was no question that anyone who wasn't in town hall was dead. Granny's diner remained the only building standing other than town hall. Everything else was brick and dust scattered on the ground. Emma hated to see what the houses looked like a few miles down. She knew that the mansion probably no longer existed. She shuddered at the thought as she remembered what was tucked under about ten layers of clothing on her side of the bedroom closet.

They walked out on Main Street and stood in the middle in a circle. Snow's bow was drawn while Emma's gun was pointed. They waited. Regina knew they would come. It wasn't long until Cora and Hook appeared right in the middle of their circle. All four of them turned quickly now surrounding them. Hook seemed to realize that this situation wasn't in his favor as he looked around between the arrow pointed right at his skull and the gun pointing at his chest.

"Regina dear. You can't tell me that you are protecting these people. Do you honestly think any of them actually love you?" Cora sneered.

Regina didn't answer the woman's question. "I will not let you hurt any of them." She answered.

"It doesn't have to be like this. You don't love any of these people. You aren't capable of it. You're foolish if you think that anyone will ever see you as anything but the Evil Queen." Cora sneered as she raised her hands. Regina mirrored her actions.

Hook tried to step to the side, but he was stopped by an arrow right in his back.

"I don't think you need me anymore Cora." He said quickly. "I came here to find the crocodile who doesn't appear to be anywhere around here. I have no intention to hurt the Queen." Hook leered at Regina, and it took every ounce of concentration Emma had not to shoot him right then and there. "Now if you don't mind, I will head back to my ship and be on my way."

"I don't think so." Snow said stepping closer to him. "You can come with me." Emma nodded at Snow as she led Hook toward Town Hall. They couldn't trust him, but she couldn't kill him either. They would decide what to do with him later.

The blue fairy, Emma, and Regina stood facing Cora.

"What do you want Mother?" Regina asked. Emma's blood went cold at the sound of Regina's voice.

"You dear. Don't you think we have been separated for too long?" Cora asked.

"I think our separation was your own doing mother." Regina sneering.

Within minutes everything changed. A flick of Cora's hand sent the blue fairy flying back into a pile of rubble. Her movement indicated that she was alright before another flick of Cora's wrist left her immobilized completely.

Regina realized in that moment how dangerous it was to have Emma there with her. Emma didn't have magic. The gun held in Emma's hand was no match to Cora. Regina knew it.

"Don't make me do this." Cora said looking right at Emma. Regina reached out then touching Emma softly on the shoulder. Emma felt the same spinning in her head that she felt when they had magically traveled around the Enchanted Forest. When she opened her eyes, she was standing right in front of a wide eyed Snow and David.

"What the hell?" Emma shouted looked around frantically.

"Did Cora do this?" Snow asked quickly. "Are you alright?"

"No. Regina did it. I'm fine. Nothing even happened." Emma mused running a hand through her hair.

Snow just stared at Emma before realization dawned on her features. "She is protecting you." Snow said breathlessly.

"I will not just stand here while she is out there risking her life." Emma shouted starting to pace back and forth.

"We go together." Snow said grabbing her daughter's arm. They ran back to where the two women had been, and Emma paled at the sight.

Regina was about ten feet from Cora deflecting what Emma could only describe as fire balls. They were screaming at each other. Emma could see it on Regina's face. She couldn't kill her own mother.

Snow raised her bow, and Emma's heart sank into her stomach as the arrow shot across the distance between them. Everything seemed like it was in slow motion. All of a sudden the arrow made contact. The fireballs stopped, and Regina's face paled as she slowly lowered her still raised hand. Cora staggered forward, and Regina caught her as she fell. The arrow was sticking out of the middle of her back, and blood began to pool around them. Regina dropped to her knees knowing that there was no way this was going to kill her mother.

Emma saw the blue fairy moving from behind Regina and Cora. Emma ran towards Regina then with Snow reaching for her. She tried to stop her, but she couldn't. Cora's head turned the moment Regina realized that Emma was coming towards them. Something was muttered from below Regina before Emma sailed backwards her head hitting the pavement with a hard smack. She was left lifeless on the floor. Snow changed courses then to run to the blond. The blue fairy was the only one who saw what happened after that.

Regina's hand sank into Cora's chest pulling out what appeared to the blue fairy to be a lump of coal. A small red light was shining inside of it. The blue fairy stopped in her tracks as she realized what it was. The sound of the heart beating could be heard all the way to where Snow stood shaking Emma trying to get her to wake up. The blonde had a pulse, but it was weak.

Regina didn't even give Cora a chance to speak before she squeezed turning the heart to grey dust. Cora gasped before she went silent blood still oozing out of Cora's now lifeless body.

The blue fairy ran to Regina. "Go." She said. "I will take care of this."

Regina let go of Cora looking down at the blood that covered her shirt. She ran full speed towards the blonde. Regina leaned over her shaking the blonde.

"We have to get her to Whale. The hospital has been destroyed." Snow said trying to snap Regina out of her haze.

The world was spinning for Regina as she looked down at the blonde. The two images of her mother's body against the pavement mixed with what she currently looked at as Emma's body. Blood pooled around Emma's head the same way it had pooled around Cora's body. The only difference was the small jump that could still be seen in Emma's neck indicating that there was a small but faint heartbeat still present.

Snow lifted Emma's body, and she saw the way her hair was matted from the blood. Her mother was dead, and Regina knew that her lover was on her way to the same fate. Nothing went right for her. She had just ripped her mother's heart right out of her chest and crushed it. Magic always came with a price. The price she was going to pay that day was Emma, and Regina knew it regardless of the life that still existed inside of her.

Her world went black as she felt someone's arms encircle her before she hit the ground.

Regina was greeted with nothing but silence when she opened her eyes. She was lying on the most comfortable mattress she had felt since the last time she had slept at the mansion. She thought everything had been a terrible nightmare until she sat up. She looked across the room at her son who was sitting in her desk chair looking blankly back at her. Regina misconstrued the sadness in his face as a confirmation to her worst fear. She felt the tears slide down her face as she accepted the worst. Regina fell back to the mattress without a word thinking that the love of her life, her only true love was dead.


	19. Chapter 19

Regina felt her heart constrict as she sat up. Her son looked completely shattered. The look on his face was the saddest she had ever seen, and she just knew what it all meant. She had seen the blonde hair that was matted with blood. Her mother had taken her first love. It only made sense that even in death she would take her true love. Henry's head turned slowly as he heard his mother take in a sharp breath.

His eyes widened before he ran over to her throwing himself into her arms. Regina felt her heart swell and constrict at the exact same time. Henry's tears flowed freely onto her neck. She rubbed his hair trying desperately hard to provide some comfort to the heart broken boy, but she couldn't. The life she had planned for them flashed before her eyes. Regina had let herself think of marrying Emma Swan. Regina had thought about adding to their family one day. She thought about silly things like camping trips and all the things Emma had promised to show her how to do. That list seemed meaningless now as her son cried in her arms.

He looked up at her with relief in his eyes. Regina had no idea how long she had been out, but she knew that her son had been sitting there contemplating losing both of his mothers on the same day. He finally spoke. "I'm so glad you're ok."

Regina ran her hands through his head. "I'm fine Henry. Everything is going to be alright."

He looked back at her with fear and concern written all over his face. "She is going to be ok. She has to be." Regina's heart broke all over again. She knew that her son must be thinking that there was some form of magic that she could do to bring the blonde back. She hated that she was going to have to be the one to tell him that bringing back someone from the dead wasn't possible.

"Henry. She is gone." Regina said looking in his eyes. The tears she had been trying to hold back rushing out of her eyes.

Henry looked at her like she had just told him that the sky was green. His eyes were wide. He seemed hurt. He seemed angry. He stood from his mother's lap before running right out of the room. Regina thought that she should go after him, but when she turned her head to see her least favorite and most favorite piece of clothing sitting beside her she broke down. She reached out for the jacket before inspecting the back. There was no blood on it. Emma had been wearing it when everything happened. She almost laughed at the situation. If Emma left her anything behind, it had to be this. She wrapped the jacket around her feeling a cold shudder shoot straight through her entire being.

She sat the jacket down. As soon as it hit the makeshift bed, a lot of people rushed into the room. She looked into the concerned faces of Snow, David, and Dr. Whale.

"Regina, are you alright?" Dr. Whale began crouching down beside her. "Does anything hurt?"

"I'm fine." Regina snapped. She hated how close everyone was to her. Dr. Whale searched her face before backing away from her. He had sorrow in his eyes. She didn't need his sympathy. She needed her son. She looked up into Snow's face and noted the tears that had dried.

"How long have I been out?" Regina asked still looking at Snow.

"Just a few hours." Snow responded in a small voice. "Henry insisted on staying in here with you. Dr. Whale checked on you every hour. We've been with Emma."

Regina felt a fresh wave of tears slide down her cheeks, and she saw her own expression mirrored in Snow White's face.

"Do you want to see her?" Snow finally asked. Regina didn't have any idea how to respond. She didn't want the last image she had in her head of the blonde to be lying in the street with blood pooling from her head, but she also didn't want the last image to be of Emma's lifeless body.

"No." Regina finally said. "I don't see where that would help anything."

Snow seemed shocked. "Regina." Dr. Whale began. "There is a chance that she can still hear you. There is a chance that you could help her."

Regina's head shot up to look into his face seeing no lies there. "She is alive?" Regina asked tentatively feeling her heartbeat rapidly in her chest. She wanted to cry from relief now. She wanted to run to the blonde.

"She is in a coma." Dr. Whale said.

"Where?" Regina asked quickly standing up in an instant.

"I will take her to Emma." Snow said with a soft smile to Dr. Whale.

They walked in complete silence. Regina couldn't believe this. She was relieved that the woman was alive, but she wondered how much hope she should have in a coma. Emma might not ever wake up. "She has been improving even over a few hours. Dr. Whale says her blood pressure and heart rate are normal. They can't tell what her brain activity is because all of the equipment at the hospital was destroyed. They did stitch up her injury, and Dr. Whale doesn't think she has any bleeding internally. They're concerned because she hasn't responded to anyone by squeezing their hand or something like that." Snow finally said as they turned another corner to a room that Regina wasn't sure she had ever been in.

Emma was lying on the bed in a white t-shirt and athletic shorts. She looked like she was asleep. Regina walked across the room to the makeshift hospital bed. Snow gave her a reassuring look before leaving her to sit with Emma. Regina looked her up and down. From this angle the only indication that anything bad had occurred was the gauze wrapped around her forehead.

Regina took Emma's hand as a single tear slid down her face. She wiped it away with her free hand. She had to be strong for Emma and Henry. She smiled down at the blonde. "Emma, if you can hear me, I need you to wake up. Henry needs you. I need you." She wanted more words to come. She pictured the movies she had seen where situations like these lead to perfect speeches from lovers before the person in the coma woke up.

She just let her hand rest in Emma's as she sat there looking down at her face before an idea struck her. She leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Emma's lips. She hated the way they didn't move against her own. She pulled back. Emma's eyes were still closed. It was silly to think that would work. This wasn't a sleeping curse. This was a medical injury. She wondered how long it would be before she saw those beautiful blue eyes again.

It was one week before a pale hand squeezed her own as she sat there talking to her. During that week the cleanup process had begun. Supplies had been ordered and delivered, and everyone had their assignments. The blue fairy would be assisting with magic if necessary. Regina wanted to help, but she couldn't make herself leave Emma's side. Henry spent his time between being outside with David and sitting with his mothers.

It was three more weeks before green eyes fluttered open right after Regina had placed a quick kiss to Emma's cheek. By that time the majority of the houses had been repaired including the mansion. Construction on the school and hospital had slowly begun. Everyone wanted to get back to their previous lives. The sooner they could move on from all of this the better.

It was two more weeks before Dr. Whale finally allowed Emma to stand up. She had a concussion, and they wanted to take it slow considering the lack of medical equipment available at the location they were in. The school had been completed at this point as well as the structure of the hospital. It was amazing how much faster things went with magic, but Regina knew the blue fairy had to be exhausted. Leroy was currently working with Gepetto to fix all of the electronic machines in the hospital that had been destroyed.

It was two more weeks before Dr. Whale finally allowed Emma to go home. Regina was ecstatic about this. Emma had spent most of the last two months asleep because everything that she did was exhausting to her. When she stood to leave town hall for the last time, she looked up at Regina after running a hand down her stomach. "I worked so hard to get these abs." Emma said with a grin. "Honestly though I just want a cheeseburger." So, Regina did the only thing she could think of. She took Emma to Granny's to get a cheeseburger.

It was another month before Emma could do any type of physical activity. That included running and intimacy. They didn't want anything to compromise her recovery. Regina had spent the month since Emma had been home making sure that she was perfectly comfortable and following the doctor's orders to a T. Emma hated it. By this time, the town had been completely rebuilt. They were having a festival in a week to celebrate that everything could finally get back to normal. The school calendar had been made again, and the newspaper had released its first edition since everything had happened with Cora.

Emma was standing on the treadmill in their basement with Regina sitting next to her. "He said you can walk for five minutes, run for five minutes, and then walk for five minutes. That is all." Regina said looked down at her paper.

"I know. I know." Emma said as she turned on the treadmill. Regina watched her. Emma hadn't really gotten skinner, but she had lost a lot of muscle tone from being in bed so much. The only thing she had been able to do physically was go on walks. Regina limited that.

"If this goes well though, you know what you get at the end of the week." Regina said with a shy smile. Dr. Whale had developed a running program for Emma that followed over two weeks. If she completed the first week without getting a headache, they could be intimate. He had reminded Emma that they had to take things slow. He said not to do anything crazy. Emma had winked at him and said, "I don't know about you doc, but Regina and I don't have the slightest clue how to have slow sex."

At the end of the week, Emma hit the stop button on the treadmill that indicated that she was done with her requirements for the first phase of the program.

"Do you have a headache?" Regina asked with a smile.

"I sure don't." Emma responded stepping closer to the brunette.

"You swear?" Regina asked as Emma's arms wrapped around her waist.

"I sure do." Emma responded before pale lips attached to Regina's neck. Regina tilted her head back letting herself enjoy the feeling of her lover's lips on her neck. It had been so long. They hadn't even had a heavy make out session since the accident. Regina didn't want to cause Emma any harm during her recovery.

Regina had to stop Emma as pale hands slid under her shirt. "We have to get ready to go to the festival." Regina said with a sharp grin at Emma.

"Since when do you want to hang out with anyone in this town?"

"Since they decided not to send me to prison for thirty years since I saved their asses." Regina responded before walking past Emma. Emma slapped her on the ass as she walked by.

They showered together with Regina constantly stopping Emma's advances. She wanted it. There was no question about that, but she wanted it to be special. She wanted them to have all the time in the world to rediscover each other's bodies. She didn't want their first time in over three months to be a quickie in the shower.

They walked hand in hand towards Henry, Snow, and David. Their son had been spending most of his time with his grandparents since the accident. He said that he didn't want to be a burden, but Regina knew that he couldn't bear to see Emma hurt. The hair that hung just below her ears now was a daily reminder of what happened. They had to shave it to give her stitches. Emma hated it. Regina didn't care what her hair looked like as long as she was alive.

They spend the afternoon talking to everyone in town. Regina had been fascinated by the booth that was selling fried candy bars. When she realized what it was, she was appalled. She wouldn't let Henry have one, but Emma managed to sneak him one when Regina went to the bathroom. They played silly games, but Regina grinned from ear to ear when Emma won her a little stuffed bear.

The sun was going down as they sat eating dinner with David, Snow, and Henry. The conversation was pleasant. A lot had changed since Cora's death. Regina knew that she may not have made it out of there alive without the arrow that Snow had shot. They had come to a mutual understanding without saying a single word that they were going to be involved in each other's lives for a long, long time. They had to get along. The bottom line was that they both loved Emma, and they each had to respect that.

Regina smiled at Henry as he told a story about a shooting game he had played with David. He was growing so much that she wondered when she would wake up to him being a full-fledged teenager. David hadn't changed much, but that didn't surprise Regina. He was Emma's father. Because of the strange situation surrounding them, he still saw Emma as his baby girl. He also had heard implications about their sex life far too much since their relationship had started, and Regina knew that no father really wanted to know anything about that.

They joined everyone else in front of the stage that had been set up for the night's entertainment. Snow White walked out smiling at everyone before walking to the microphone.

"I want to welcome you all to this celebration. I know it has been a hard few weeks, but I am so happy to see the way that we have all come together. The town looks beautiful. I just have a few announcements before we get started. First, I would like to officially offer the reinstatement of her position as Mayor to Regina." Regina's head snapped up. "No one can run this town like you have Regina. A lot of things have come to light over the past few months. If this town is going to continue to grow and have a future, you are the one that needs to be leading it." Regina smiled wide at Snow before she nodded her head to indicate that she would be happy to take the position. "The second thing I would like to announce is very personal to David and I. We didn't want to tell anyone until we were sure, but we would like to announce that we are pregnant." Regina couldn't help the genuine smile that spread across her face. Children were always a blessing. She looked at Emma to see a smile on her face. David leaned across the table to smile at Emma. "You'll always be my little girl." He said with a silly grin. Emma smiled back. "The third announcement is that we have additional copies of the paper here for those who didn't get one. It details all of the stores that are open, their hours, as well as the plans for the new school schedule. Without further ado, I'd like to introduce Killian Jones who will be our entertainment tonight."

It wasn't long before the former pirate walked on the stage carrying an acoustic guitar. He had come a long way since his arrival in Storybrooke. His redemption had a lot to do with him falling in love with Amanda or Ariel as she was better known. He played a slow song as the many couples of Storybrooke started to slow dance.

"May I have this dance?" Emma asked with a wide grin.

"Of course dear." Regina responded with a smile.

They swayed slowly as the music filtered through the air.

"I love you." Emma said with a smile.

"I love you too." Regina responded before laying her head down on Emma's shoulder. There was nothing more calming to her now than the sound of Emma's heart beating in her chest.

"May I cut in?" Henry asked as the song changed to another. Emma stepped back to smile at her son. "Of course you can."

Emma stepped back to watch Henry dance slowly with Regina who smiled down at him. He almost came up to her shoulders now. Emma let herself watch them for a few minutes before she headed backstage.

After the song ended, Regina looked around for the blonde who was nowhere in sight. When another song didn't begin to play immediately, she looked up at the stage to see Emma walking out onto it. The room quieted instantly at the presence of the savior.

"Regina, will you come up here?" Emma asked. She sounded nervous. That made Regina nervous.

She joined the blonde on the stage. Every single eye in the crowd was looking at her.

"Just a few years ago I was living in Boston. I was alone, and I was miserable. I thought about Henry all the time. I wondered what he looked like. I wondered what he liked to do. I hoped every single day that he had a loving family. Then, he showed up on my doorstep talking about fairytales, and I thought great the kid is a maniac." The crowd laughed. "Then, I came here. The first thing I saw was the house he grew up in, and I knew that he didn't want for anything. I knew he was having trouble, but I knew without question that Regina loved him. You gave him everything that I couldn't." Emma said looking up at Regina. "A piece clicked into place when I knew that he was alright. Then there was you. I would have laughed in someone's face if they told me I would fall in love with my son's adopted mother, but I did. Through everything that has happened over the last year, you have been the constant in my life. You've been infuriating, but you've been understanding too. There is nothing normal about our relationship. I know that. Snow White's daughter falling in love with the Evil Queen. Someone should really write that story and try to publish it outside of Storybrooke to see what happens." Emma laughed nervously. "What I am saying is that coming to Storybrooke was the best thing that ever happened to me. I have friends." Emma gestured towards Belle and Ruby. "I finally have my parents. I have our son. I got to meet Mulan and Sleeping Beauty in the Enchanted Forest." The crowd laughed again. Regina was standing there in nervous anticipation. "Most importantly, I have you. I love you Regina Mills." Emma stepped closer to the brunette and smiled at her before dropping down to one knee.

"Regina, will you marry me?" Emma asked before opening a blue velvet box to reveal a sparkling diamond. It was the same diamond that had been resting in Emma's closet before all of this happened.

Regina felt the tears spring to her eyes as she looked into Emma's green ones.

"Yes." Regina said softly.

"We have a yes folks." Emma shouted into the microphone before she crashed her lips into the brunette's. They finally pulled back for Emma to slide the ring on her finger.

They spent the next hour being congratulated by everyone in town.

"We'll take Henry tonight." Snow said with a smile as she pulled back from the slightly awkward hug she had just given Regina. Regina smiled with gratitude.

"How about we go home?" Emma asked with a seductive smile.

"Lead the way dear." Regina responded before allowing the blonde to lead her to the car. She then allowed the blonde to carry her up to their bedroom before they spent the night reacquainting themselves with each other and celebrating the beginning of their newest chapter.

**The End.**


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